SP’s: FBI has advised ransomware victims to pay the ransom and retrieve their data as there is not much the top law enforcement agency of the USA can do in this matter. It is pretty difficult to decrypt the ransomware so users are at the hacker’s mercy.
Getting hacked is so common these days that it neither gets the headlines nor the sympathies. Recently, a dangerous “Breaking Bad” ransomware was let loose which was completely undetected by the best Antiviruses as well.
Nevertheless, FBI, the USA’s top law enforcement agency which used to be the last resort for the companies that got hacked for help, has also left the victims in dismay.
Joseph Bonavolonta, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s CYBER and Counterintelligence Program in its Boston office says, “The ransomware is that good. To be honest, we often advise people just to pay the ransom”.
Ransomware is unlike any other hack and is increasingly used by the attackers to hold down the entire system by strong encryption and data of the victim is held hostage until the ransom is paid. Read the difference between viruses, trojans, spyware, ransomware, worms and bots to know more about the subject.
FBI has admitted hands down that the task to get all of the data is next to impossible if the users are attacked with Cryptolocker, Cryptowall or any other forms of ransomware such as the Windows 10 ransomware scam without the payment.
As the unwitting consumers are attacked by ransomware, they have to pay the ransom in the now officially accepted currency Bitcoin. This situation makes the users helpless against such attacks.
However, there are few ways to stop the ransomware. Most of the times the ransomware goes undetected, but if you suspect of any file to be of such kind, immediately remove that before complete encryption takes place and the data is frozen. Offline back-up of the data will also be helpful, as it is the data that is held to ransom. So keep an additional copy.
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