Refusal to pay money is the main weapon of municipalities in the fight against ransomware
Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2025 6:55 am
Pavel Kulyuk | 12/18/2019
The number of attacks on municipal computers by ransomware is growing in Russia, Kaspersky Lab reports. In just 11 months of 2019, 174 municipalities were attacked, which is 60% more than the previous year.
The company details the nature of the malware: “Despite the fact that some ransomware samples are exceptionally complex, the general scheme of their operation is quite simple: the malware turns files on the victim’s computer into unreadable encrypted data, after which it demands a ransom for decryption keys. These keys are created by the attackers guatemala whatsapp data and can be used to decrypt files and return data to its original state. Without the key, it is impossible to work on the infected device. The malware can be distributed by the creators themselves, or they can sell it to other attackers or their partner networks - “third-party distributors”, who share part of the proceeds from successful attacks with the owners of the technology.”
Fortunately, ransomware is still relatively uncommon. It accounts for 2.8 to 3.5% of all malicious attacks. At the same time, private users are attacked by these programs much more often than municipalities. Every year, 1.8 to 2.4 million people are attacked by ransomware. Municipalities have become a new target for attackers only this year.
The average ransom demand is about $1 million. However, in some cases, the required reward reaches $5 million. Sometimes municipalities pay the ransom, since it is covered by insurance. However, Kaspersky Lab does not approve of this approach, advising to strengthen security measures instead of encouraging criminals. According to experts, this can be done in the following way:
The number of attacks on municipal computers by ransomware is growing in Russia, Kaspersky Lab reports. In just 11 months of 2019, 174 municipalities were attacked, which is 60% more than the previous year.
The company details the nature of the malware: “Despite the fact that some ransomware samples are exceptionally complex, the general scheme of their operation is quite simple: the malware turns files on the victim’s computer into unreadable encrypted data, after which it demands a ransom for decryption keys. These keys are created by the attackers guatemala whatsapp data and can be used to decrypt files and return data to its original state. Without the key, it is impossible to work on the infected device. The malware can be distributed by the creators themselves, or they can sell it to other attackers or their partner networks - “third-party distributors”, who share part of the proceeds from successful attacks with the owners of the technology.”
Fortunately, ransomware is still relatively uncommon. It accounts for 2.8 to 3.5% of all malicious attacks. At the same time, private users are attacked by these programs much more often than municipalities. Every year, 1.8 to 2.4 million people are attacked by ransomware. Municipalities have become a new target for attackers only this year.
The average ransom demand is about $1 million. However, in some cases, the required reward reaches $5 million. Sometimes municipalities pay the ransom, since it is covered by insurance. However, Kaspersky Lab does not approve of this approach, advising to strengthen security measures instead of encouraging criminals. According to experts, this can be done in the following way: