In last two years, the cyberspace has witnessed some of the deadly attacks in the form of ransomware infiltrations. We know that cybercriminals are always working from the sphere of anonymity. Therefore, it is always difficult for cyber security professionals to identify any ransomware strain with the motives of its operators.
However, by analyzing cyber attacks orchestrated by using particular ransomware strains, one can profile them. Let’s have a look on how some of the notorious ransomware strains of recent time are used by their operators.
SamSam
This ransomware strain might be the biggest cyber threat of this year, just like WannaCry was for the last year. From affecting large private public networks (Allscripts) to target the systems of local governments (Atlanta), this cryptovirological strain has been successfully employed by its operators to cause wide scale technological destruction in last couple of months.
If we dissect all the noteworthy SamSam attacks, it can be easily inferred that the culprits behind these cyber criminal activity target those organizations that can afford to pay hefty extortion money to remove ransomware. In addition, SamSam operators have targeted all those organizations where downtime is considered very critical.
In cases of SamSam attacks, companies that refused to pay the operators to remove ransomware had to spend millions of dollars to disinfect and restore their networks and systems.
WannaCry
WannaCry attacks might be the largest cyber assault that we have ever seen where hundreds and thousands of users got affected in more than 150 countries. With the available information on the subject, experts have concluded that the attack was launched or facilitated by the rogue state of North Korea to disrupt the worldwide status quo while minting money through ransom payments. Some estimates suggest that more than one billion dollar have been spent by the affected users globally to remove this ransomware strain and for other recovery measures.
Locky
It is another ransomware strain that is primarily used to attack large organizations including government bodies and for the same reason as SamSam i.e. to ask for large sum of money to remove ransomware infection.
For assistance on file recovery, please contact MonsterCloud Cyber Security experts for a professional ransomware removal.
