How Has Ransomware Ruined the Lives of Many People?
Ransomware is a malicious computer malware that enters the user’s system and encrypts all the files, locking all the data, rendering it inaccessible, and adversely affecting the system. A decryption key is required for ransomware removal to access the data, which can only be attained once the demanded amount of ransom is paid to the attackers.
Cyber-attacks are so ubiquitous and prevalent worldwide with the potential to cause immense destruction and every day, thousands of such digital threats are developed. Billions of people around the world are using computer systems and other digital gadgets, which gives an extensive opportunity for cyber attackers to exploit a huge number of victims. These victims range from huge corporate companies to small businesses and personal individual users. It is undoubtedly a notorious pain to deal with, and over the years, has targeted countless entities.
According to research findings, 69% of companies were affected by Ransomware attacks in 2018, with approximately £8 billion lost in damages caused by the malware.
Why do these crooks plague the computer with Ransomware? The motives vary, where some hackers want to use it as a source of making money through the ransom that they receive, while others want to get access to personal and confidential information. Not just this, there are some who do this just for the sake of pleasure!
Many victims have lost their valuable data and files as a result of a Ransomware attack. Ransomware removal has also caused immense financial losses due to paying ransom. This renders the affected business or individual ineffective as their productivity is hindered. The downtime costs are also very high, furthering the losses incurred. Becoming a target of the malware has detrimental impacts on the reputation of the entity since people might regard it as risky and unprofessional.
Ransomware can cause immense damage, as was witnessed in the WannaCry Attack of 2017. Such huge were the effects of the massive hack that impacted around 200,000 victims in 150 different countries.
Let’s take a close look at how WannaCry malware caused detrimental effects for people around the world.
This global ransomware attack had such catastrophic effects that propagated throughout the world, affecting hospitals, universities, businesses, gas stations, police departments, and governments around the globe.
The situation was so intense that at many hospitals, people had to wait for several hours for their appointment, and at some, they were told not to visit unless it was very critical. Such was the height that some hospitals were even forced to return the ambulances!
Many industrial activities and manufacturing plants were forced to shut down and cease operations. Apart from this, gas stations in China and security departments in India had to halt their services. The train services in Germany were also hindered and in many cases, ticket machines were disabled. Delivery services as well as telephone lines were also notably disrupted. Furthermore, it also impacted the IT departments and digital transactions, causing inconvenience to customers.
Moreover, the victims have incurred huge costs in the form of ransom since Ransomware removal demands a hefty amount of money to be paid. It has had devastating effects on the reputation of the company. Data shows that 87% of the people are less likely to conduct business activities with a company that has been a victim of data breaches.
Ransomware, thus, has the ability to immensely affect the victim’s productivity. The locked files become inaccessible and important data is lost. It has damaged the business activities of millions of people around the world.
