GOOGLE has released a new report which reviewed 80 million ransomware samples from 140 countries.
It listed the UK as one of the countries most affected by cyber criminal attacks that involve hackers threatening to release private information if money is not paid.
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Google commissioned cybersecurity experts VirusTotal to conduct the report.
It states that: “Israel, South Korea, Vietnam, China, Singapore, India, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Iran and the UK are the 10 most affected territories based on the number of submissions to VirusTotal.”
Israel submitted the largest amount of ransomware samples.
Ransomware activity was said to peak during the first two quarter of 2020.
Another peak happened in July 2021 and this has been attributed to the ‘Babuk ransomware gang’.
The ransomware group with the most reports of harmful activity is called GandCrab.
It actually accounted for 78.5% of samples.
The researchers noted: “Windows accounts for 95 percent of the ransomware targets, compared to 2 percent for Android.”
They said that “there is a constant baseline of ransomware activity that never stops” but big campaigns do come and go.
Some good ways to safe online are to have strong passwords, two factor authentication for your accounts and private social media profiles.
You should also be wary of any suspicious links or files you are sent and never download or click on anything you’re unsure of.
Never give personal or financial information away unless you’re certain it’s for a legitimate transaction.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
