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RansomWare
RansomWare
Probably the most invasive of all current viruses and attacks. The first half of 2016 saw a threefold increase over the whole of 2015 and 2017 will see RansomWare attacks increase yet again. RansomWare, once installed, will usually encrypt the hard drive and lock the computer with a splash screen advising the data has been encrypted and demanding a payment (the ransom). Payments have in the past been inexpensive but there is no guarantee that once payment has been made the required decryption key will actually be sent. Payment is almost always by an untraceable Cryptocurrency (ie bitcoin but there are others). RansomWare almost always targets Windows operating systems but Mac and Linux variants have been reported.
National Cyber Secure Centre - Ransomware