Introduction
Ransomware steals and encrypts files, and refuses to give you the decryption key until you pay a steep fee. Often, the bad actor refuses to return data regardless of whether you pay; and sometimes they even charge a second “double extortion” fee to prevent them from publishing all the stolen data online.
Sounds scary, right?
Well now, ransomware is even more frightening.
How Ransomware Got Even Meaner
“Fast ransomware” acts much quicker than the typical malware does, often working within minutes or even seconds of being deployed. This makes it difficult for victims to stop the encryption process before their files are locked up for good!
Typically in a ransomware attack, you would want to disconnect the infected machine and start incident response plans immediately. Time is always of the essence, but even more so when software can move this quickly!
Fast ransomware can be particularly devastating for businesses, as it can quickly disrupt operations and lead to financial losses. Some of the fastest ransomware strains can encrypt files at speeds of over 100 GB per minute. This means that even large networks can be encrypted in a matter of minutes.
Popular fast ransomware strains include…
- LockBit
- BlackCat
- 8BASE
- Akira
- Rorschach
When Rorschach was first discovered in April 2023, it was considered the quickest encryption tool on the dark market—capable of encrypting 220K files in under five minutes. Imagine what it could do to your data?
Protect Yourself from Ransomware, Fast or Slow!
Here are some tips to protect yourself from fast ransomware:
- Educate yourself and your employees about ransomware and how to avoid it.
- Keep your software up to date, including your operating system, security software and web browser.
- Use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.
- Be careful about what emails you open and what links you click on.
- Back up your data regularly and store the backups offline.
While this will help you avoid being infected in the first place, you need to prepare for what happens if you DO encounter ransomware on any of your devices.
Conclusion
If you think you may have been infected with ransomware, remember: DO NOT PAY THE RANSOM.
Just like other malicious cyber software, fast ransomware is typically delivered through traditional cybercriminal methods, such as phishing and social engineering. The more you know about malicious threats and tactics for stealing your data, the better prepared you’ll be when something like this happens to you!
In today’s cyber-threat landscape, it’s well-nigh impossible to avoid cybercriminals forever! More important to security is to remain aware of the latest threats to your data privacy and how experts can, do or aim to combat these kinds of attacks.
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