2017 Saw Ransomware On The Rise – 2018 Will See Even More

It's fair to say that ransomware exploded in 2017. After inflicting an estimated $350 million in damage in 2015 and $850 million in 2016, at least one source estimates that it hit $5 billion last year. Most prominent among these were WannaCry, which shut down computers in 80 organizations affiliated with Britain's National Health Service among many other infections, and Not Petya, which attacked many international companies' computer systems.

Ransomware's success at blocking users from accessing their own systems and demanding payment in order to restore that access stems from two key developments in the past decade. First, improvements in the strength and adaptability of encryption have given ransomware authors the tools to remotely lock up another person's system. Second, the development of cryptocurrencies has given them the ability to demand and receive ransom funds that are difficult to trace.