Several New Targets For Ransomware Have Been Identified…

An article review.

Over the last couple of years we’ve discussed the threat posed by ransomware several times, and for good reason: it’s now the most common type of cyber threat for both businesses and individuals. Being common doesn’t negate the threat posed, however, and it seems the FBI agrees—they’ve recently issued a warning to US organizations about a new “high impact” ransomware threat.

While the overall number of ransomware attacks has declined since 2017, the FBI says that the attacks themselves have become targeted and sophisticated, leading to significantly increased losses. The targets of those attacks have frequently been state and local governments, along with school districts, with the costs sometimes going into the millions of dollars.

In their warning, the FBI says health care organizations, industrial companies and the transportation sector are now being targeted by criminals. While the specific techniques used are frequently evolving, authorities have observed phishing and software exploits—including Windows Remote Desktop—being used, and advise that all software and devices should be kept up to date. Finally, if ramsomware should strike having a recent data backup could mean the difference between a quick recovery, or an expensive ordeal.

Original article by Davey Winder writing for Forbes.