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[] ] KNOW THE THREATS[ SUPERGUIDE ]
Know the threats
HALF THE BATTLE TO PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM THREATS TO YOUR DIGITAL
SECURITY AND PRIVACY IS KNOWING WHAT THEY ARE. WE EXPLAIN THE KEY ONES
YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF IN 2017.
[ NATHAN TAYLOR ]
THE INTERNET ISN’T getting any safer.
Every year, more sophisticated threats are
being introduced, and keeping up with them
all can be a trial even for experienced users.
This year, the threats have become more
dangerous than ever. The old days of malware
that just messed with you for poops and
giggles are over: the threats are now made by
advanced criminal organisations looking for
financial gain.
We’ve gone through various reports by
major security software vendors so you’d
know what to be on the lookout for this year,
and compiled a ‘Top 10’ threat list for 2017.
THE TOP THREE THREATS- RANSOMWARE
If there’s one common denominator to
every threat report from 2016 and 2017,
it’s ransomware. Ransomware incidences
increased by an insane number in 2016.
According to network security experts
SonicWall, global ransomware attacks went
from 3.8 million in 2015 to 638 million in
2016, an increase of 16,700%. That was because
a variety of new code bases were developed
and released, prompting new waves of
ransomware attacks. There were plenty of
attacks on non-PC systems, too; there was
even ransomware that targeted TV sets
running Android.
If you’ve not encountered ransomware,
you’re lucky — it’s one of the most difficult
problems to deal with. It’s malware that takes
something that you value hostage. Most
commonly it will encrypt important files on
your computer — photos and documents —
so that they’re inaccessible. Then you will get
a message on screen telling you to go to a
particular website and pay to get your stuffunlocked, usually using a cryptocurrency
like Bitcoin. Rates are typically a few dollars
to several hundred dollars, and historically
they have actually unlocked the files (so, yes,
paying does typically work, although it’s not
something we necessarily recommend).
What makes it difficult to deal with is that
there’s very little you can do about it after the
fact. Once your files are encrypted, there’s
usually no way to get them back without
paying. Simply removing the malware doesn’t
work — the files will remain encrypted.
Moreover, recent versions of ransomware have
become more vicious when you try: the Jigsaw
ransomware, for example, starts deleting a few
files for every hour you don’t pay; and will
delete 1,000 files as “punishment” if you try
and tamper with it or restart your computer.
What to do about it: Back your stuff up.
Really. Seriously. Don’t mess around. Have