Ransomware

In this modern era, malware has emerged as a malicious cyber threat to critical information and communication infrastructure. Ransomware is a type of malware which holds the victim’s computer hostage by encrypting the data available on it, which makes the data unusable and inaccessible to its legitimate user. The attacker demands that the user pay before the decryption key is released to reverse the attack. This chapter explains about ransomware and its classification, how it impacts different platforms, the severity of ransomware, the methodology used by ransomware to penetrate target machines, the attack vectors used, the latest ransomware attacks, the most common targets of ransomware attacks, how to prevent ransomware attacks, and ways to recover.