Police, Cyber Firms Tackle 'ransomware' Hacking Threat
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published July 25, 2016 | 05:04 PM
THE HAGUE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th july,2016) : Dutch police, Europol and a coalition of cyber security firms launched a new website Monday to fight a surge in "ransomware" which locks users' data until they pay criminals to retrieve it. The "No More Ransom" initiative is the new online portal "aimed at informing the public about the dangers of ransomware and helping victims to recover their data without having to pay ransoms to cyber criminals," said a combined statement, issued from Europol's Hague-based headquarters. The website www.nomoreransom.org offers advice on how to avoid data being taken hostage by ransomware, as well as more than 160,000 decryption keys in the event of a computer being infected. Hackers have been stepping up efforts to turn their exploits into hard cash in recent years by locking unsuspecting computer users' data after infecting their computers with malicious software.
Kaspersky Lab, one of the tech firms supporting the project, said the number of victims attacked by so-called crypto-ransomware was growing by an alarming rate -- rising from 131,000 in 2014-15 to 718,000 in 2015-16. "Ransomware is a top threat for EU law enforcement," added Monday's statement.
"Almost two-thirds of EU member states are conducting investigations into this form of attack." Chief technical officer Steve Grobman from Intel Security, one of the other tech firms involved in the scheme, said in March the practice is growing due to several factors -- easy access to necessary software, criminal networks which offer the service, and the difficulty of tracking down the culprits who are able to hide in anonymous networks.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
HEC reviews curricula for environmental sciences degree programme
ICC Asia looking forward to an action-packed Asia Cricket Week
Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
Greece hands Olympic flame to 2024 Paris Games hosts
Two Kyiv hospitals evacuating over feared Russian strikes
World must act on neurotech revolution, say experts
Charles & Catherine's cancer diagnoses
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
King Charles to resume some public duties during cancer treatment: palace
US defense chief announces $6 bn in security aid for Ukraine
Heavy rains cause damage to Spezand-Taftan railway track
Woman stabbed in Israel, attacker killed: police
More Stories From World
-
NFL will allow players to wear Guardian Cap helmets in games
3 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga table
3 hours ago -
Football: Italian Serie A result
3 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga results
3 hours ago -
US troops to leave Chad in second African state withdrawal
3 hours ago -
Plastics pollution may be solved without production cap: Canada minister
4 hours ago
-
Biden stalls on menthol cigarette ban fearing Black vote backlash
4 hours ago -
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
4 hours ago -
6,000 French police to welcome Olympic torch amid bonus boost
4 hours ago -
Taiwan hit by several quakes, strongest reaching 6.1-magnitude
4 hours ago -
'Ballistic' Bairstow stars as Punjab pull off record T20 chase
4 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 2nd update
4 hours ago