7/19/2023 0 Comments Cyber extortion![]() Provide regular training about cybersecurity. What can and should businesses do to reduce their risk of falling victim to cyber extortion? Here is some guidance to share with your clients.ĭon’t simply assume “everyone knows” about cyber threats. Know the Cyber Extortion Prevention Best Practices The botnet makes the targeted website or server unavailable to legitimate users, and the victim must pay ransom to stop the disruption. In DDoS events, cyberattackers flood a system with traffic until it crashes by using multiple hijacked, connected machines-a “botnet”-against a single target. Carrying out Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is another. When using “triple extortion” ransomware, cyberattackers demand payment not only from the targeted company but also from that company’s clients.Īnd using ransomware is only one cyber extortion tactic. It may also then have to deal with other financial fallout such as paying for credit monitoring for affected individuals and running a public relations campaign to restore their tarnished image (fairly or unfairly).ĭouble extortion isn’t even as bad as attacks can be. ![]() The targeted company will have to notify affected third parties that their information has been compromised. Stealing and then threatening to release data is often called “double extortion.” In cases of double extortion, a data exposure, which might not in itself leave the victimized company liable for damages, turns into a data breach, which almost certainly will. But instead of demanding money for access, it threatens to make data public unless the victim pays. Sometimes, cyberattackers use code called “extortionware.” Like ransomware, extortionware infects and encrypts data. In 2021, 623.3 million ransomware attacks occurred worldwide-105% more than the year before, and more than three times the amount in 2019, according to cybersecurity firm SonicWall. ![]() The malware then demands victims pay a ransom to decrypt their files, and regain control of affected data and devices. The malware encrypts data and files, rendering them inaccessible, and makes devices and systems unusable. In ransomware attacks, cybercriminals use malicious code (malware) to infiltrate devices, servers, and networks. Understanding the Major Types of Cyber ExtortionĪs mentioned, ransomware attacks are by far the most common cyber extortion cases. We at ProWriters have prepared this brief overview of what it is, as well as how businesses can defend against and respond to it. Opportunities to exploit computing vulnerabilities are abundant and low-risk, and the potential payoff is too great.Īs a broker serving your business clients’ best interests, you need to know the basics about cyber extortion. Though national and state cyber extortion laws are on the books, they haven’t deterred cyber extortionists. ![]() Actual payments increased 78%, reaching an average of $541,010. In 2021, the average demand cybercriminals made in ransomware attacks-the most common, type of cyber extortion-increased 144% over 2020, according to cybersecurity company Unit 42. Digital bullies have grown more sophisticated, and greedier in their ransom demands. In real life, no one laughs extortion off-especially not cyber extortion.Ĭyber extortion cases are on the rise. In a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, a schoolyard bully demands Calvin pay 50 cents to be his friend-or else! Calvin wryly asks, “What’s a little extortion among friends?”
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