2020 sees cybercriminals turn to Ransomware 2.0

Historically ransomware has relied on encrypting data and then demanding money in order to release it. But a new report from F-Secure shows that 2020 has seen an increase in ransomware that also steals data, giving the attackers more leverage over their victims. If organizations first refuse to pay a ransom to decrypt their data, attackers threaten to leak the stolen information, increasing pressure on victims. Only one ransomware group was observed using this type of extortion -- dubbed Ransomware 2.0 -- in 2019 but by the end of 2020, 15 different ransomware families had adopted this approach. In addition… [Continue Reading]