The Rise of Ransomeware Attacks - What are CSOs To Do?

Cybercriminals using "ransomware" are shifting their sights from individual targets to bigger ones, Intel Security Group's Steve Grobman said Monday. "We're now starting to see the shift from not only consumers [to] even soft-target organizations and businesses, like hospitals, universities and police stations," he told CNBC Grobman, Intel Security's chief technology officer, also said key infrastructures in the U.S. are at risk of a ransomware attack, and greater coordination between government and private entities is needed to fight off such infiltrations. A ransomware attack occurs when a cybercriminal essentially takes the victim's files and information hostage in exchange for money. These types of attacks rose 26 percent in the last quarter of 2015 from the previous quarter, according to a report from McAfee Labs and Intel. The hackers demanded to be paid in Bitcoin, a digital currency that's difficult to trace back to actual people. Hucks says the district followed the kidnappers directions, bought several bitcoins online, then carefully negotiated a "proof of life" type transaction to make sure the cyberkidnappers would deliver what they promised. "We chose to send the payment for one machine, first, so that we could ensure that it would work." Hucks says the criminals sent a code for one computer. He entered the code, and the computer returned to operation. Horry County then deposited the equivalent of $10,000 into the hackers' Bitcoin account and the school computer system was back up and running. Cybercriminals, many originating in Eastern Europe or the Russian Federation, according to experts, target small- and middle-sized institutions.Which counter-measures can best protect both government and private sector organizations from the rise in ransomware attacks? Send your recommendations with the Cloud and Cyber Security Center: http://cloudandcybersecurity.blogspot.com/