Victims of a ransomware attack may now have alternatives to paying the ransom to a cyber-criminal as a result of the No More Ransom project. Recognizing the enormous amount of harm that ransomware creates for the enterprise, No More Ransom was started by Europol, the Dutch National Police, Intel Security, and Kaspersky Lab to help ransomware victims unlock their data without paying any money.
Victims of a ransomware attack may now have alternatives to paying the ransom to a cyber-criminal as a result of the No More Ransom project. Recognizing the enormous amount of harm that ransomware creates for the enterprise, No More Ransom was started by Europol, the Dutch National Police, Intel Security, and Kaspersky Lab to help ransomware victims unlock their data without paying any money.
No More Ransom’s online website provides users with many no-cost decryption tools that have helped more than 10,000 victims recover their data cost free. In addition, the website offers helpful tips and advice for persons seeking to protect themselves from ransomware attacks. Given its early success, the No More Ransom project has now expanded to offer 14 languages and 40 free decryption tools. Indeed, since December 2016, the website has added 15 new ransomware decryption tools, including: AVAST, Bitdefender, CheckPoint, Eleven Paths, Emsisoft, and Kaspersky Lab.
The decryption tools provided by No More Ransom demonstrate the significant strides being made for victims of a ransomware attack to combat same. However, the best course of action for those seeking to protect themselves from becoming a cybersecurity victim remains prevention. As such, it is critical that the decryption tools be thought of as a “last line of defense.” Additionally, companies should regularly back-up all of its files and also test restore procedures to ensure that they can maintain business continuity in the event of an attack. Accordingly, implementing preventative measures before an attack, such as security awareness training, backing-up files, putting software protection in place, and keeping all software up to date so as not to become a ransomware attack victim is extremely important. Having a strategy in place to respond quickly to a ransomware attack is paramount.
PartnerKaren Painter Randall, formerly Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney and a partner at Connell Foley LLP, where she chairs the Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and Incident Response Group. With extensive ...