- Encrypts user files without permission, then demands financial compensation using data as hostage
- Recent attacks surge and methods become more sophisticated, global damages reached 26 trillion won last year
- Threat of re-attack continues even after paying ransom, "Preparing for security incidents in advance minimizes damage"
- US Cybereason and Korea's DDI provide solutions
Ransomware is a type of 'malware', software designed to perform malicious tasks such as destroying systems or altering and leaking information. It is installed on systems without user consent and encrypts all user files without permission. The next step for criminals is to demand financial compensation using the data as hostage.
○ Increasing ransomware damage
Globally, damage from ransomware continues to increase. This is because the required technical difficulty is lower compared to other hacking attacks. Recently, a 'lucrative business model' has also emerged. Ransomware groups are now providing attack tools as 'Ransomware-as-a-Service'. This allows anyone to start a blackmail business using Ransomware-as-a-Service and existing cloud infrastructure.
The destructiveness of ransomware is also evident in statistics. According to a recent report by global cybersecurity firm Cybereason, the scale of global ransomware attacks last year was $20 billion (about 26 trillion 400 billion won), doubling from 2020.
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Robert Oh, Vice President of Head of Digitalization at Doosan and COO of DDI, said, "Damage to Korean companies is increasing to the extent that the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency issued a ransomware alert in February." He added, "Next-generation information security is not simply about protecting a company's data or branding, but is an important element that should be the foundation for digital transformation of all companies. Therefore, it has become more important for Korean companies to secure competitiveness through active interest and investment in next-generation information security."
*Source: Korea Economic Daily, June 27, 2022 16:26, https://www.hankyung.com/it/article/2022062783281#n