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Ransomware Attack Essay

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Recovery Recovering from a ransomware attack isn't easy, yet it can be done. However, companies who fall victim to ransomware may find that the recovery process is the least of their concerns. They could be facing not only lawsuits, but also costly fines. This is why prevention is so critical. A good example of this is the attack that recently hit Metropolitan Urology Group in Milwaukee, Urology Austin and ABCD Children's Pediatrics in San Antonio. This attack led to the need for the three providers to notify 352,744 patients that their personal data might have been exposed. In addition, the providers are now paying for identity theft resolution services and/or credit monitoring for 12 months. Furthermore, they were required under HIPAA …show more content…

Doing so helps to ensure the organization is protected legally and remains in compliance with current law. Furthermore, this information helps to prevent future attacks, which is a concern of every organization, whether it be a government, financial institution, healthcare provider or other entity. Different Strains Of Ransomware Ransomware comes in many forms. Furthermore, cybercriminals continue to upgrade this malware, thus an organization hit by Cerber ransomware when it first appeared in 2016 may find they have also become victim to one of its followers, such as cerber1 or cerber2. CryptoLocker was first seen in September 2013 and infected computers with the help of a dirty email attachment. This virus was eradicated in June 2014 with the help of the United States Department of Justice. Nevertheless, new ransomware viruses have popped up with similar names that people need to be aware of. April of 2017 saw the introduction of the Onion ransomware virus, one that is of the Dharma ransomware variety. Experts state this is a high risk virus and one that organizations need to protect against. When a computer becomes infected, files will be encrypted with the .onion extension. The computer system owner then receives a short text message explaining what steps have to be taken to restore the infected files and fix the system. If help is needed in doing so, the owner is directed to

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