Security experts warn that computers and mobile phones can be infected and their contents encrypted by cyber thieves who then demand a ransom.

Security experts warn that computers and mobile phones can be infected and their contents encrypted by cyber thieves who then demand a ransom.
Photo Credit: Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press

Ransomware becoming more common, warn experts

Increasing numbers of cyber thieves are infecting computers with viruses that encrypt their contents and then demanding a ransom to unlock them. Victims include hospitals, police forces, small businesses and individuals, to name just a few.

It’s difficult to know just how big the problem is because large companies are not likely to admit to the fact that their computers have been hacked.

The author of “Technocreep,” Tom Keenan warns people to back up their files on a cloud service or external hard drive.
The author of “Technocreep,” Tom Keenan warns people to back up their files on a cloud service or external hard drive.

Bitcoin is untraceable

A wine store in the western city of Calgary was hit just before Christmas and a woman in Winnipeg lost family photos on her computer. In both cases, the victims paid the ransoms in order to get their content back. Extortionists demand payment in bitcoin which cannot be traced.

The infection usually occurs when people open attachments to fake emails or download movies from dodgy sites. “Never do anything that’s bad,” says Tom Keenan, a professor at the University of Calgary and author of “Technocreep.”

Back up files, urges expert

“But as a back-up plan also have your files saved somewhere else. So if they’re backed up in a cloud service…then you can say ‘oh well, my computer’s been infected, but it was time for a new computer anyway.’ Take that $500 (that you would have paid in ransom) and go buy a new computer with a nice fresh operating system and bring your files back from the cloud. Then you’ve kind of benefitted from it.”

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Keenan says, before doing that, a victim could try opening files in a different operating system, explaining that sometimes thieves get lazy and don’t encrypt as they say they have, and files may be recovered.

The scheme seems to be spreading to mobile phones and while Apple products appear to not have been breached,  cyber thieves would love to be able to tap into what they see as the next lucrative market.

Prevention is best

It’s always best to prevent infection in the first place, says Keenan. That means updating security software date daily, never opening attachments on suspicious emails, and being careful what you download.

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