As a type of malicious software used by cybercriminals, ransomware destroys or prevents a person or business from accessing certain sensitive data or critical systems, until a ransom has been paid to the party initiating the attack.
Ransomware is particularly dangerous and disruptive – as it typically involves data or devices being suddenly locked and unavailable, without warning. Attacks occur either as social-engineered ransomware: which uses phishing where the attacker poses as a legitimate company or website to trick a victim into clicking a link or opening an email attachment; or as human-operated ransomware: where an attacker steals account information to gain access to an organisation’s IT network, then targets information and systems which they can infiltrate.
