May 15, 2017
By BRIAN X. CHEN
A decade-old form of malicious software known as ransomware has been making headlines after cybercriminals hijacked hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide.
Ransomware, which is often transmitted by email or web pop-ups, involves locking up people’s data and threatening to destroy it if a ransom is not paid. The global cyberattack has affected 200,000 Windows computers in more than 150 countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Britain.
The cybercriminals have generally targeted hospitals, academic institutions, blue-chip companies and businesses like movie theater chains. The attacks highlight the challenges that organizations face with consistently applying security safeguards on a large scale.
“Not only individuals, but even governments and big companies with so much to lose fail to secure their systems and train their employees about necessary security practices,” said Marty P. Kamden, a marketing executive for the private network service provider NordVPN. “Cautious online behavior would probably have prevented the malware from infecting the network in the first place.”
