Aarti Shahani, the tech reporter of National Public Radio created a compelling story about the scourge of ransomware that is taking over America. The title of the story is:
Ransomware: When Hackers Lock Your Files, To Pay Or Not To Pay?
She started out with: "A lot of computer viruses hide inside your system. Hackers stealing your data go out of their way to operate quietly, stealthily, under the radar.
"But there's another kind of attack that makes itself known — on purpose. It sneaks into your network and takes your files, holding them for ransom. It's called ransomware, and, according to cybersecurity experts, this kind of attack is getting more sophisticated.
Stick 'Em Up
"Eric Young, who manages the computer network for a small business in Hermitage, Tenn., got a call from work. It was a Monday morning and, he says, it was "a very bad way to start the week."
"Somebody in the office opened an email that looked legit. "It has the exact background of like PayPal," Young recalls, "and it says, somebody paid you money."
"The employee clicked the link, and out popped a red alert that took up most of the screen. It was a threat: Pay ransom to an anonymous hacker, or all the files in the company network will be encrypted — locked up with a digital key that's so strong, no one can open them ever again."
I was also interviewed for this story and KnowBe4 is mentioned in both the article and the radio interview, about how we help organizations to pay ransom that have been infected and have no or failed backups. This is a great story to forward to management, either the website or the radio interview. It makes the problem of ransomware very real! Here is the link:
