“Your network has been penetrated,” begins the text file. The message is a ransom note — but instead of requesting cash for the safe return of a loved one, it asks for digital funds for the release of data belonging to a US manufacturer.
The company is one of many to be affected by ransomware — where hackers disable a victims’ files or systems and will only release the decryption key once a ransom is paid. The hackers of the manufacturing company sign off their note: “No system is safe.”
They may be right. The rise of ransomware has been driven by businesses’ growing dependence on technology and data, as well as the development of anonymous digital currencies that allow criminals to move funds without being traced. So what should a company do if they are hacked?