Ransomware of Things: The new Facade in Cyber Space!

Before we entangle ourselves in everything digital that this year has to offer, first take a quick pause and realize that just while we were waiting for 2017, a month is down already—January has passed! Yes, and we are already hearing fresh cybercriminal stories, a whole new army of buzzwords, bizarre innovations in the hacking world and what not. For instance, take ransomware. What do you think it really entails? Does it even matter – will it ever actually affect you? Will it vanish as quickly as it appeared, right?

Wrong, Ransomware isn’t going anywhere, in fact it’s growing in the most dreadful forms. Security experts have shared a few insights on Ransomware, about how it’s gonna expand in the new few years. Let’s have a quick glance.

RoT—Ransomware of Things

One Golden rule: Don’t put anything on the internet you wouldn’t want your mother to see.

Cobb, security expert at a leading company, warns us about this unknown concept. His concern is that “malicious software that seeks to take control of a device” – or “Jackware”, as he calls it – may infiltrate 2017.He believes there needs to be a collective international effort made, to stop the IoT giving way to the RoT, on both at technical and political levels.

Is Jackware the new Ransomware?

Jackware as malicious software seeks control of a device, but surprisingly the primary purpose of which is not data processing or digital communications. The goal of Jackware is to lock up a car or other device until you pay up the ransom. So we can call Jackware as a specialized form on ransomware that majorly deals with cars.

So what has this got to do with cars? Consider the recent news of bugs for BMW’s ConnectedDrive. There are a lot of interesting IoT aspects associated with ConnectedDrive. For example, you can use it to regulate your smart home’s temperature, lights, and alarm system “comfortably from inside your vehicle”. The mere possibility that the features and settings of your vehicle’s inbuilt system could be remotely administered, is enough to give a bait to cyber villians.

This is when the hackers come into picture and seize your vehicle until you finally decide to pay up.

Precisely, terms like RoT and Jackware are not intended to cause any serious damage. They just symbolize things that could come to pass if we do not do enough in 2017 to prevent them from becoming a reality. So, maybe now is the time to take charge.

How to Get RoT under Control

It’s high time that we all realize that Ransomware is running Rampant. In order to stop the IoT becoming home to the RoT, a number of things need to happen. A lot of people have already paid millions of dollars to criminals to get back their own files or devices. To stop the IoT becoming home to the RoT, a number of things need to happen. We need to grip security on both the levels—

See Also: What to do if your system is already infected with Ransomware?

First, the technical side, here we need to ensure that the traditional methods like filtering, encrypting and authenticating which consume a huge overhead cost need to operate on low latency. The second sphere in which action against the RoT should be taken is policy and politics. Government agencies must step further to take preventive measures against ransomware. If both these spheres are collaborated perfectly, then no other force is required to stop hackers execute their vicious schemes.

Cybercriminals are creating more and more sophisticated variants to lock users out of their own devices. Once you are locked out, you either pay up or part with your precious data forever. For starters you can download Right Backup, which is a great tool to safeguard your private data by uploading it on the cloud storage.

Yes, Ransomware can be extremely scary, but it can be easily tackled with a little awareness and action.

Tip of the day: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.