����vlog

Ransomware attacks are becoming more common and crippling.Colonial Pipeline, which transports fuel through 10 states between Texas and New Jersey, said it had been hit by a ransomware attack and had halted all pipeline operations to deal with the threat.When a business is targeted, data and files are rarely stolen or removed from their computer networks."Most attacks, they don't exfiltrate the data because that starts to leave a trail that they could be tracked," said Bruce Young, a cybersecurity expert with Harrisburg University in Pennsylvania.Instead, hackers encrypt the data in place, rendering it useless."So, unless you pay the ransom and get the key – there's a decryption key to decrypt the data to get your data back," Young said. The more valuable the data, the higher the ransom."They'll put time frames on it, where if you pay within the next 24 hours it's $1 million. If you wait until 72 hours or three days, it goes up to $5 million," Young said.Those dollar figures are just examples. The kind of ransom that has been demanded in the Colonial Pipeline case is unknown.Ransomware attacks on hospitals, universities and other businesses are happening more frequently.Cybersecurity experts said it's just a matter of time before our power grids, water systems and transportation networks are impacted."It's cyberspace. It's very hard to defend because it's a global situation where the internet has no boundaries," Young said.