How to Stop Ransomware Attacks
Eliminating the threat means going after the criminals who profit from it.
Womp womp.
Photographer: Rob Engelaar/AFP/Getty Images
At least since Julius Caesar paid 50 talents to a band of Cilician pirates for his freedom, ransom has proved to be a popular and profitable criminal enterprise. In the digital age, it’s wreaking havoc far beyond its immediate victims.
Ransomware attacks, in which gangs infiltrate a company’s computer systems and demand payment before unlocking their files, have been surging of late. An attack on Colonial Pipeline Inc. resulted in gas shortages across the East Coast last month. A similar infiltration caused the meat producer JBS SA to shut facilities in three countries. Even the poor operators of the Martha’s Vineyard ferry recently succumbed to digital extortion.