Last year alone in the United States, ransomware gangs hit more than 100 federal, state and municipal agencies, upwards of 500 healthcare centres and 1,680 educational institutions. Ransomware scrambles the target organisation’s data with encryption. The criminals leave instructions on infected computers for negotiating ransom payments. Once paid, they provide decryption keys for unlocking those files. Recent high-profile attacks on JBS SA and Colonial Pipeline have drawn close attention from the White House and other world leaders, along with heightened scrutiny of the foreign safe havens where cybercriminal mafias operate.
Source(s):