Ransomware: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This article appeared in Cybersecurity Law & Strategy, an ALM publication for privacy and security professionals, Chief Information Security Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Corporate Counsel, Internet and Tech Practitioners, In-House Counsel. Visit the website to learn more.

Ransomware has quickly emerged as a billion dollar industry and shows no sign of slowing down. 2016 statistics indicate that 40 percent of spam email contained ransomware, representing 60 percent of infections. Every 40 seconds, a company gets hit with ransomware and payouts are significantly higher than consumer focused cyber extortion, with payments ranging from $17,000 to $150,000. And just recently, countries in Europe and elsewhere were hit with a massive ransomware attack by the WannaCry malware. Fortunately, the U.S. was mostly spared.