Ransomware encrypts your files and holds them hostage until you pay. Robert Siciliano of IDTheftSecurity.com explains the threat, which is growing. Back up your data regularly, keep software updated, and never pay the ransom.
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Holding your identity hostage. The new way thieves are raiding the internet to steal your information. We'll tell you how you can protect yourself.
We all have important files saved in our home computers, photos, tax records, personal information.
And computer hackers are trying to take all of that away from you in an instant by holding your files for ransom. Fox 25's Ted Daniels shows us how it works and how you can protect yourself.
Give me $2 million or you'll never see him again.
Sean! You know the drill. The call comes in. A mysterious voice demands ransom. Unfortunately, this high drama normally seen on the big screen is also showing up on another type of screen, and it could affect you. Is that something that's happening more and more these days? It's called ransomware, and it's the latest cybersecurity threat. Instead of taking kids, these crooks are taking pictures of your kids. And just about everything else in your computer, holding all your files hostage until you pay up.
Just think about everything you have stored right now in your work or home computer and imagine losing all of it.
It's like somebody locking it up in a drawer and throwing away the key. I have all my law school documents. Resumes and pictures of my friends and my family.
Financial information there in QuickBooks, uh, and then I've got emails. I have final essays. Um, you know, midterms and everything.
Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts and locks all your files. Hackers can lure you in with an innocent-looking email or attachment. You can also fall victim if you click on an infected website. Security expert Robert Siciliano runs Revere-based IDTheftSecurity.com.
Hackers, uh, have gone from seeking fame to now seeking fortune. They've realized that the exact same technology that they've used to delete your files or compromise your PC, that they can now use to make money.
Ransom notes can look something like this. They tell you not to call the police and demand anywhere from a few dollars to a few thousand, usually to be paid via online money transfer. One scheme specifically asked that you spend hundreds at a questionable Russian pharmaceutical website. Once the ransom is paid, the hackers promise to send a code that will unlock your computer.
When a hacker takes over your PC with ransomware, They're taking over all of your personal information or that of your clients, and there are significant issues of identity theft as a result of this crime.
The FBI says at this point documented cases of ransomware are rare, but this is a crime some may not report.
I think at any time when we're seeing only isolated cases of it, if it's successful for the criminal, then we will begin to see more and more of those types of cases evolve.
So how do you protect yourself? Well, the best defense is a good offense. Back up all your files and periodically run updated security software. If you do get targeted, security experts say never pay the ransom. First, contact the authorities, and then you may have to try a forensic computer expert to recover your data or unlock the code.
This is your ransom.
Leave this drama for the movies. You don't want it happening to you. I'm Ted Daniel, Fox 25 News.
