Jan 13, 2016

There is nothing more valuable to the modern company than its private information. Operating a business in the digital age means the passage of data through multiple hands, and whether it's information about the company itself or even that of its clients, this material is extremely important. 

Sadly, there are many people out there trying to take this data. One of the more interesting ways hackers are going about stealing what isn't theirs is a technique called ransomware. This type of malware has become a serious threat to every company that allows information to be shared among employees, as it jeopardizes the privacy of the data. 

What's so bad about ransomware?

Ransomware is a malicious piece of software that works to infiltrate your computer. Once there, the malware basically locks you out from accessing the files on the machine. The ransomware will display a message demanding money, stating that the user will only be able to access their important information once the hacker has been paid. 

Many times, this message will look like something sent from an authoritative entity, such as the FBI or CIA. It will say the person has committed some kind of crime, and that they have a short period of time to pay off the fine. If the victim refuses to pay, the message states that the fake agency will come to arrest them. 

Of course, this is a completely fake message, but quite a lot of people fall for this scheme. Trend Micro's chief cybersecurity officer Tom Kellermann states that around 30 percent of people pay the cybercriminals involved in a ransomware scam.

While it's good to see that a majority of people aren't paying these hackers, what this number shows is that hackers are playing the numbers game with a ransomware scheme. They do their best to get as many computers as possible infected with the malware so they can have a larger pool to pull from.

The scarier part of this kind of scheme is that it isn't contained to PCs. The New York Times reported that Android phones were getting hit with ransomware in 2014, giving hackers even more victims to choose from.

Remote Wipe from Memeo C1 can help

If you're a business leader worried about the safety of his company's data, ransomware must be an extremely frightening concept. This is especially scary if your company has instituted a BYOD policy, considering the fact that smartphones can become targets as well. 

There are certainly many ways to mitigate the risk of ransomware, but one of the most effective is a secure file sharing option that allows key officials to wipe a device of any information. This allows the company to get sensitive company information off of an infected machine before it can be accessed by a hacker, and can stop ransomware cyber criminals in their tracks. 

If you're looking to keep your company safe from ransomware attacks, make sure to check out Memeo C1. This online file sharing solution has a remote wipe option built in, giving you complete control over which devices have mission-critical information on them.