Ransomware attack

Ransomware, a self-propagating malware that uses encryption to hold the victims’ data ransom, has emerged in recent years as one of the most dangerous cyber threats, with widespread damage (Fruhlinger, 2017). In merely 7 days, the WannaCry malware, has affected over 200,00 computers in over 75 countries. The attacks left public and private entities, including critical infrastructure such as hospital and public entities, crippled across the globe. Till date, ransomware remains one of cybercriminals lucrative modus operandi. This technical research focuses on the latest ransomware variant, named Samsam that crippled the Atlanta City government on 23rd March 2018.

Static (hashing files, file headers, functions and strings) and behavioral (system process, file system, registry, network activity) techniques will be used to analyze the malware. Reverse engineering technique using Ollydbg and IDApro will also be used as part of the behavioral analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and to make aware of what is ransomware, its effects, how it propagates and some preventive measures such as practicing cyber hygiene or deploying new technologies to avoid being infected with the ransomware malware. This area of study is particularly relevant to the current climate as a study by google states that ransomware is ‘here to stay’ (Ward, 2017).

Ransomware has become the scourge of the 2020s thus far. Research and reporting show that ransomware attacks increased more than 60% in 2020 and continue to grow in 2021. To combat this terrible scourge, every vendor has a new feature, gadget, service, or technical solution to assist you in beefing up your ransomware defenses with only a moderate increase in spending. But the truth is most of these attacks are succeeding not because of the technical acumen of the attackers, but because we are failing to do the basics that keep our networks, users, and data security. This talk will look at ransomware trends over the last few years and apply historic context and lessons learned to recommend the most effective solutions to protect your networks.

Ransomware has become the scourge of the 2020s thus far. Research and reporting show that ransomware attacks increased more than 60% in 2020 and continue to grow in 2021. To combat this terrible scourge, every vendor has a new feature, gadget, service, or technical solution to assist you in beefing up your ransomware defenses with only a moderate increase in spending. But the truth is most of these attacks are succeeding not because of the technical acumen of the attackers, but because we are failing to do the basics that keep our networks, users, and data security. This talk will look at ransomware trends over the last few years and apply historic context and lessons learned to recommend the most effective solutions to protect your networks.

Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents or restricts user from accessing their system, either by locking the system's screen or by locking the users' files in the system unless a ransom is paid. More modern ransomware families, individually categorize as crypto-ransomware, encrypt certain file types on infected systems and forces users to pay the ransom through online payment methods to get a decrypt key. The analysis shows that there has been a significant improvement in encryption techniques used by ransomware. The careful analysis of ransomware behavior can produce an effective detection system that significantly reduces the amount of victim data loss.

Never in the history of humanity, people all over the world are subject to exaction on a huge scale as they are today. In the recent years, the usage of PCs and the Internet has exploded and, along with this huge increase, cybercrooks have come to feed this souk, aiming acquitted consumers with a wide range of per-ware. Most of these threats are meant unswervingly or meanderingly in receiving currency from victims. Today, the ransomware appears to be one of the most unpleasant per-ware categories of the time. Several works have been published in the field of information and Internet security, various pernicious attacks, and cryptography. The objective of this research paper is to present everything with regard to latest crypto-virus trend known as ransomware. The paper explains the history, the modus operandi as well as the architecture of ransomware attack.

In this digital world, security is the primary concern for users concerned about unauthorised access to their computer systems. At the same time, ransomware – a tool used by cyber criminals to encrypt the contents of a computer's file system without the permission or knowledge of the victim – is becoming increasingly common. Once the system is compromised – that is, the files are encrypted – the attacker forces users to pay a ransom, typically through online payment methods, to get a decryption key. Even if victims pay the ransom, there is no guarantee that the decryption key will be supplied, or access to their computer system restored. In this article, we propose a solution that prevents such an attack and secures computers using a new mechanism that identifies an attack and takes the necessary steps to defeat it by creating a large dummy file. When a large dummy file is being encrypted by an attacker – which takes some time because of the file size – the remaining contents of the file system are made non-accessible to the malware. The proposed mechanism has been tested in a real-time environment and proved beneficial.

Undeterred by numerous efforts deployed by antivirus software that shields users from various security threats, ransomware is constantly evolving as technology advances. The impact includes hackers hindering the user’s accessibility to their data, and the user will pay ransom to retrieve their data. Ransomware also targets multimillion-dollar organizations, and it can cause colossal data loss. The organizations could face catastrophic consequences, and business operations could be ceased. This research contributes by spreading awareness of ransomware to alert people to tackle ransomware. The solution of this research is the conceptual development of a browser extension that provides assistance to warn users of plausible dangers while surfing the Internet. It allows the users to surf the web safely. Since the contribution of this research is conceptual, we can assume that technology users will adopt the proposed idea to prevent ransomware attacks on their personal computers once the solution is fully implemented in future research.

The standardization, interconnectivity and pervasiveness of information systems, combined with the increasing ability to collect and utilize data, enhance the value they offer a user. These strengths however can also be turned into a weakness and vulnerability by ransomware (RW). RW can utilize the functionality of current systems both to infect them but also to increase the magnitude of the attack. This research proposes a model of the impact of the RW attack on the user’s trust, which in turn has an effect on their decision to pay the ransom or follow the guidance from the relevant institutions. The model shows that the effectiveness of the attack, the trust in the competence of the attacker and ransomware demands that are reasonable and easy to fulfil, positively influence the intention to pay the ransom. The initial institutional response, institutional trust and institutional solution influence the intention to follow the institutional guidance.

Cyber Safety is not only affecting the developed nations, developing countries are also facing this problem as they more embrace technology. Recently Bangladesh has experienced cyber attracts on an epic proportion while facing new threats such as “Ransomware “. Many prominent tech companies were hit by the security breaches and experienced loss of data. Ransomware is a malware its can corrupted all data in your computer. However, there is a catch; the malware will corrupt your data when you don’t comply with the demands of the hacker. And many of us do not even know how to full fill Hackers Demand. Most of our company or group of company has no idea about computer virus or how-to protect their account or data.

Nouvelle vague d'attaque au ransomware « NotPetya » : qui est vraiment responsable ? Après la déferlante « WannaCry » il y a quelques semaines, qui avait déjà durement impacté plus de 150 pays à travers le monde, une nouvelle cyberattaque d'envergure mondiale au rançongiciel se déploie actuellement à l'échelle planétaire. Attaque informatique Publié le 28 Juin 2017 Franck Decloquement Franck DeCloquement est expert en intelligence stratégique (IES) pour le groupe Ker-Meur, et ancien de l'Ecole de guerre économique de Paris (EGE). Membre fondateur de la FFPC (French Federation of Psycho-Forensics), il est en outre professeur à l'Iris (Institut de Relations internationales et stratégiques) en "Géo-économie et intelligence stratégique", et enseigne également la "Géopolitique des médias" en Master 2 recherche "Médias et Mondialisation", à l'IFP (Institut français de presse) de l'université de Paris II Panthéon-Assas. Franck DeCloquement est aussi conférencier sur les menaces émergentes liées aux actions d'espionnage et les déstabilisations de nature informationnelle et humaine. Il est en outre intervenu pour la Scia (Swiss Competitive Intelligence Association) à Genève, aux assises de la Fncds (Fédération nationale des cadres dirigeants et supérieurs), et au colloque inaugural de la FFPC au Sénat, en octobre 2016, sur "La perception du fait religieux". ________________ ATLANTICO / TRIBUNE Nouvelle vague d'attaque au ransomware « NotPetya » : qui est vraiment responsable ?