emerging threats and counter measures (Dissertation)

Running head: STUDY OF RANSOMWARE 1

STUDY OF RANSOMWARE 2

Study of Ransomware

by

Vinay Akula

Instructor: Dr Donnie Grimes

University of Cumberlands

Table of Contents

Title page 1

Introduction 3

Study of Ransomware 3

Impacts Caused by Ransomware Attacks 4

Management of Ransomware Attacks 6

References 9

Study of Ransomware

Introduction

Information technology is a department that has really developed over the last decades' thanks to the advances that have been in the field of technology. The gradual development in technology that has also been reflected with the advances in the internet connection in the world leading to the concept of internet of things whereby the concept has really led to massive benefits being made. The advances have resulted in various benefits being made for the organizations that have resorted to the use of internet and technology in running of their key activities. However, these advances have come with numerous challenges and ransomware attack is just one of the key challenges that organizations face in their use of the internet in the provision of quality services for the market (Moschovitis, 2018).

Study of Ransomware

The success of any organization depends on its ability to provide protection and security measures to its database and some of the key activities that take place within its premises. This is especially important in today`s world where technology has become an effective tool in the daily execution of duties. In this regard, it's clear that cybercrimes have rapidly increased in the world as technology advances have been made in the world. This has related to making the fight against cybercrimes and internet warfare a nightmare, more challenging and difficult to deal with.

Ransomware attack which is basically defined as a malware attack on somebody`s smartphone or computer by holding ransom some of the data for the user till he/she pays for the data in order to gain access for the data that they have been blocked to access. The advances made in the world have made it difficult for the users of the internet as criminals have always managed to change how they handle these issues. Therefore, in most cases, criminals are ever on the win in the fight against ransomware in the world. The increase in the ransomware attacks in the world has to be attributed to an increase in the computer learners in the world and the computer security professionals who might unknowingly or knowingly share some critical information leading to these malicious attacks being carried out (Moschovitis, 2018).

Impacts Caused by Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware attacks have been known to cause devastating effects to both individuals and organization that have ended up being culprits of these security concerns. The impacts caused by ransomware attacks are usually devastating for the organizations as they lead to data loss. Data loss for an organization is not a normal business for any organization due to the impact that such a loss can lead to the development of the organization. For instance, an increase in the ransomware attacks means that there is damage to the host system, files and data thus making it difficult for the organizations to successfully carry on with their business.

Besides that, due to data loss, the ability to carry on with business organization becomes a difficult task for such an organization. This is because of the impact that the organizations face when they lose such data. For instance, loss of data leads to damage to the company`s reputation as some of the information lost might have been some confidential information about the customers this is especially in cases when hospitals are attacked. The impact of such a loss of data is that they might lead to the closure of the company due to the negative impact created in society.

Additionally, there is also system downtime whenever such an attack takes place in any organization. This is usually the case whenever an attack takes place within an organization. The data loss and the time spent in ensuring that there is an easy resumption of the system. As a result, this means that there is an enormous amount of time that is lost in the process of restructuring the entire system into a formidable system once again. Therefore, the system downtime leads to further loss of resources that would have been used in the overall running of the company towards meeting its goals (Campbell, 2016).

In addition, the attack also leads to the loss company`s resources such as time and money. This is especially in instances after an attack has been carried out and the ransom is required so that services blocked can easily be accessed by the user of the computer. In this case, there is wastage of time as one tries to ensure that an amicable solution is achieved. Besides that, there is also the use of money to help solve the situation. Therefore the attack has really huge impacts on the successful running of the organization due to the fact that there is a lot of time that is spent on seeking solution rather than making the company realize its goals. Besides that, upon assumption of the company, it never recovers the fear of being attacked which makes everyone working at such an environment insecure in the daily delivery of their duties.

The mentioned impacts above have devastating effects on the effective running of the organization. There is wastage of resources and in worse cases leading to the ultimate closure of the organization caused by these impacts. As a result, there is a need for the organization to seek the best security measures that can be used to ensure that such threats do not cause devastating impacts on society. This is largely due to the fact that fighting cybercrimes has become effective in the world by the increase in the training offered and education to various individuals in the world.

Management of Ransomware Attacks

Therefore, there must be a robust security measure that prevents the attack on the modified ransomware attacks on the information infrastructure that focuses on android devices. The method should be able to detect any defects on the processing units, detect any malicious attacks and this effectively help in the elimination of such attacks as fast as possible so that at the end the organization can efficiently continue with discharging of its duties unaffected with the ransomware attacks that have become rampant in the world today.

The management of the attacks will have to be done by the incorporation of some of the best and modern tools in the fight against ransomware attacks in the organization. The tools should be able to detect any suspicious behavior in the overall execution of their duties; this will then call for appropriate measures that will result into easy elimination of the threats posed by the ransomware attacks.

In this case, there is a need to use various ways to ensure that the management of ransomware attacks is perfectly done to prevent further damage to the organizations. First is the installation of the updated antivirus software throughout the entire business organization. The use of antivirus has just to be the first line of defense for the organization in which there is multi-faceted management of the insecurity issues. The multi-faceted system should be able to provide better technologies in the management of insecurity threats, the technologies used are such as the firewalls, heuristics, and behavioral-based threats. Besides that, by the fact that technology is ever-growing means that there must be the use of updating of this software to ensure that it does not become outdated and ineffective in identification and management of ransomware attacks (Haber & Hibbert, 2017).

Besides that, there is also a need to create internet usage awareness among users. Security threats and possible ways which security breaches might be prevented are through the creation of awareness among internet users. The awareness has to be through campaigns that stress the avoidance of clicking on the emails that they don't know the senders. In this case, internet users have to answer personal questions before clicking on the emails that they receive. These are such as, do they know the sender? Is there need to open the file? Was anything ordered from the purported sender? Answering such questions will help in managing the insecurity issues within the organization. These are common phishing methods used to ensure that there is effective prevention of ransomware attacks to the unsuspecting employees.

In addition, backing up the data is also another important aspect of managing data that can be used to prevent ransomware attacks on the organization`s database. There are various ways in which the system can be backed up. However, there is always a need to settle on the best security measure that can be useful in ensuring effective management of the ransomware attacks. In this case, the use of external storage of data is crucial for the management of these threats. This is because it enables the user of the internet to effectively prevent an attack on these data by simply making sure that the data is stored in a different external storage site that ensures no harm is done on the critical data of the organization. Therefore, in such incidences whenever an attack takes place there is no damage done and the company can easily continue with its key activities unaffected (Vallabhaneni,  2019).

It's indeed true that management of the ransomware attacks has become a difficult task in the world, this hugely due to the fact that there are different ways in which organizations get attacked, especially with the increase in the computer experts in the world. However, there are also other robust security measures that ensure there is effective management of such incidences within the organizations. Therefore, this calls for the use of the most updated ant malware that detects and prevents such attacks on the organization. The threats have to be easily identified and taken care of at an early stage in order to prevent the huge impacts that take place upon the attack takes place.

References

Campbell, T. (2016). Practical Information Security Management: A Complete Guide to Planning and Implementation. New York, NY: Apress.

Haber, M. J., & Hibbert, B. (2017). Privileged Attack Vectors: Building Effective Cyber-Defense Strategies to Protect Organizations. New York, NY: Apress.

Moschovitis, C. (2018). Cybersecurity Program Development for Business: The Essential Planning Guide. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Vallabhaneni, S. R. (2019). Wiley CIA Exam Review 2019 Focus Notes, Part 3: Business Knowledge for Internal Auditing (Wiley CIA Exam Review Series). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.