The Ransomware Attack: What You Need to Know to Protect Yourself

Scammers don’t just target consumers; in some cases, an entire business can fall victim to a scam. Ransomware, a now worldwide scam that came to large last Friday, hacks an entire business’s network through a computer virus and demands payment for access.

The Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) describes a typical scam of this sort as the victim clicking on an infected advertisement, link or email attachment that is followed by a pop-up. The message on the screen states that all the files on the office’s computers have been encrypted, “making them useless unless you have a key to decode them.”

The problem with these ransom-inspired viruses is that the people behind the viruses demand payments in Bitcoin, so the payment works like cash and can’t be traced.

“Ransomware will continue to be a real problem for businesses this year,” said Paula Fleming, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer for the local BBB. “I have spoken with many businesses in the past that got hit with ransomware and their entire office’s computer network was frozen.”

According to CBBB, the scam unleashed last Friday infected an estimated 75,000 computers in 99 countries.

Visit go.bbb.org/ransomware for the official suggestions from Better Business Bureau and the National Cyber Security Alliance on how businesses can enhance their security to prevent ransomware attacks if they are to reemerge in the future.