A closer look at the huge global threat that is ransomware

First off, ransomware is not entirely new. It has been around for many years now, but only in recent times has attacks of this nature become more prevalent and more dangerous. This is not helped by the arrival of RaaS or ransomware-as-service offerings by cybercriminals, who provide via the deep web compact kits for launching ransomware campaigns.

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Ransomware is essentially malware that enters systems via malicious codes, with the intent of encrypting them and locking users out. In effect, a ransomware-affected device is held hostage, and you’d have no access to your sensitive data. Cybercriminals then demand a ransom (now increasingly payable via cryptocurrency) before you regain access to the device.

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It is highly advisable that even if you do become a victim of ransomware that you don’t pay the said ransom, as it will just propagate and fund future attacks. Moreover, many users don’t even get the decryption keys even after they’ve paid up.


Prevention is therefore key. To avoid becoming part of the growing ransomware-victim statistics, always make sure that your devices are protected by comprehensive, 24/7, and reliable anti-malware software. Set these to automatically update to newer versions.


Also, ensure that you regularly back up your data, whether on physical external storage devices or online cloud platforms. Finally, be smart; don’t click on any suspicious attachments or links sent via your email or private messages from various social media sites.


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How exactly does data encryption work?

Encryption in general refers to the modern method of cryptography that lets users hide information from others. It does so by applying a complex set of algorithms called ciphers, which convert normal data (technically called plaintext) to what amounts to seemingly random characters (ciphertext). Only those who hold the key can decrypt the data and view them in plaintext anew.

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Again, today’s encryption processes are based on old cryptography methods that create and decipher codes, tracing its origins back to ancient Greece. However, encryption in the internet age is done for a wide array of security measures, from protecting our private correspondences, personal information, and sensitive business data to keeping our credit cards, bank accounts, and social security numbers from being compromised.

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In 1976, the U.S. National Bureau of Standards initiated the so-called Data Encryption Standard (DES), a shared secret encryption method or block cipher as the country’s official Federal Information Processing Standard or FIPS. Today, DES is being used more and more on a global scale.


Modern encryption essentially has two types: those that use symmetric key algorithms and those that apply asymmetric ones. Symmetric key algorithms use identical or related encryption keys for both encryption and decryption. On the other hand, asymmetric key algorithms have different or separate keys for encryption and decryption. Experts in the industry often refer to the latter as Public-key Cryptography.


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The Growing Importance Of Data Security

As technology continues to play an increased role in our lives, evidenced by the rise of the internet, heightened engagement on social media, and innovations like IoT, the more we’ve to be conscious of safeguarding our data.

Data security is a huge concern in this modern, oft-online world, as instances of hacking, breaches, and cybercrime in general continue to riddle the news. The information age has affected our society in unprecedented levels, seeping into everyday essentials, from banking and vehicles to our medical needs and bills payments.

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Not to mention most companies now have significant online operations. We should be especially keen to the necessary precautions to secure our data and protect our privacy. The storage needed for voluminous modern personal and work-related data keeps growing, driving many to use online technologies like Cloud. But even this is not safe; studies show that cybercrime on the Cloud platform will triple by 2020, from the figures in 2015.

We must embrace better protocols for encryption and password choices, as well as continue backing-up our data on physical devices like portable hard drives and SSDs. Huge businesses, on the other hand, must enforce improved cyber security strategies. For example, they can conduct regular phishing assessments among employees to track potential email-based scams.

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What is encryption and why is it important?

Encryption is the process of altering information in such a way that makes it unreadable by anyone except those possessing special knowledge, allowing them to change the information back to original and unreadable form. Here’s why encryption is important in securing and protecting data from intruders. 

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The foremost function of encryption is protecting data from entities that shouldn’t have access to it. Businesses, for instance, use it for protecting corporate secrets, while governments harness it for securing classified information. On the individual level, encryption protects personal details from threats such as identity theft. 

Today, because vast amounts of personal information are managed online and stored in servers or the cloud with an ongoing web connection, it’s almost impossible to do business without personal data ending up in a networked computer system. This is why it’s crucial that the data is kept private.

Encryption is important because Internet privacy risks are real, and it turns personal information into “for your eyes only” messages intended for the parties that need them. Most email clients, for instance, are accompanied by the option of encryption in the settings menu. 

Hacking is also big business, sometimes planned by multinational entities on a large scale. A number of government and private regulations demand security measures as well, such as healthcare providers being required by law to implement security features protecting patients’ sensitive health information. Encryption assists businesses in staying safe, secure, and compliant when it comes to valuable customer data. 

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Secure Channels has the mission to help organizations maximize their active security tools used for authentication and data protection through cost and performance effective solutions that will address security challenges that are the main concerns of businesses and organizations today. Learn more on this page.