ZDNet: Easy to carry out, difficult to fight against: Why ransomware is booming in 2016

With more devices connected to the internet than ever before and organisations increasingly reliant on constant access to such connected systems, it's no wonder ransomware has surged this year.

By Danny Palmer
August 16, 2016

When it comes to tech security threats, 2016 has been the year of ransomware, with numerous high-profile organisations forced to pay ransoms in order to regain access to crucial files and systems after becoming victims of data-encrypting malware. The surge in ransomware even saw the US and Canada issue a rare joint cyber alert in an effort to warn against its dangers.

But ransomware is far from a new phenomenon -- the first instance, dubbed PC Cyborg, was written in 1989 -- so why is it now suddenly booming? There's a combination of factors; one of them is simply that people are becoming more reliant on computers to store files and victims don't want to lose that data, so are often willing to pay a ransom to get it back.

Click the URL above to read the full article