Ransomware is a present-day digital plague — cold, methodical and indifferent. Spreading from source to source, it can lie dormant within networks for years, biding its time before striking.
In a flash, it encrypts all data it comes in contact with, holding hostage decades’ worth of scientific research, crucial medical records or countless baby photos. Unlike the biblical plagues of Moses, the almighty hacker sends forth an avaricious Pharaoh days before data annihilation. “Pay us, and we will let your data go.”
Local testimonials of ransomware attacks are hard to come by, owing to the lack of breach notification laws in Malaysia, with victims preferring to keep these incidents under wraps. However, local penetration testing firm LE Global Services Sdn Bhd (LGMS) receives about two to three such incident reports a month and stumbles upon unique cases from time to time.