{"id":199,"count":3,"description":"

What is ransomware?<\/h3>\r\nRansomware poses a prolific and grave threat to the U.S. economy, as demonstrated by the 2021 Colonial Pipeline incident, which showed the staggering impacts ransomware attacks can have on both businesses and households. In 2020, adjusted losses from ransomware reached $29.1 million, according to the FBI<\/a>, up from $8.9 million in 2019. However, since victims rarely report ransomware payments to their financial institution or law enforcement, some estimates indicate that total losses may be closer to $350 million<\/a> per year.\r\n\r\nRansomware is a type of malicious software (or malware) that prevents a business or individual from accessing computer files, systems or networks until a ransom is paid to restore normal operations. Ransomware is often delivered through phishing emails that appear to come from legitimate customers or contacts; these emails will contain links or attachments that, when clicked on, may take control of the user\u2019s computer and potentially infect other files on the network.\r\n\r\nThese incidents can severely disrupt business processes and block access to critical data. Criminals use these disruptions and the threat of public disclosure to their advantage to demand payment from their victims, typically in the form of cryptocurrency<\/a>.\u00a0 Cryptocurrency offers the advantage of anonymity while also making it easy for criminals to verify \u2014 using publicly available blockchain data \u2014 that a payment has been completed. Victims who decide to pay the demand are usually given instructions on how to restore normal operations; those that don\u2019t risk being permanently shut out of their systems or having their data exposed to the public.\r\n\r\nWhile U.S.-based cryptocurrency firms are subject to anti-money laundering (AML) requirements<\/a>, many ransomware operators are located outside U.S. jurisdiction and solicit payments through foreign firms whose host country does not enforce the same rigorous AML expectations.","link":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/","name":"Ransomware","slug":"ransomware","taxonomy":"category","parent":67,"meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nRansomware Archives - Bank Policy Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ransomware Archives - Bank Policy Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is ransomware? Ransomware poses a prolific and grave threat to the U.S. economy, as demonstrated by the 2021 Colonial Pipeline incident, which showed the staggering impacts ransomware attacks can have on both businesses and households. In 2020, adjusted losses from ransomware reached $29.1 million, according to the FBI, up from $8.9 million in 2019. However, since victims rarely report ransomware payments to their financial institution or law enforcement, some estimates indicate that total losses may be closer to $350 million per year. Ransomware is a type of malicious software (or malware) that prevents a business or individual from accessing computer files, systems or networks until a ransom is paid to restore normal operations. Ransomware is often delivered through phishing emails that appear to come from legitimate customers or contacts; these emails will contain links or attachments that, when clicked on, may take control of the user\u2019s computer and potentially infect other files on the network. These incidents can severely disrupt business processes and block access to critical data. Criminals use these disruptions and the threat of public disclosure to their advantage to demand payment from their victims, typically in the form of cryptocurrency.\u00a0 Cryptocurrency offers the advantage of anonymity while also making it easy for criminals to verify \u2014 using publicly available blockchain data \u2014 that a payment has been completed. Victims who decide to pay the demand are usually given instructions on how to restore normal operations; those that don\u2019t risk being permanently shut out of their systems or having their data exposed to the public. While U.S.-based cryptocurrency firms are subject to anti-money laundering (AML) requirements, many ransomware operators are located outside U.S. jurisdiction and solicit payments through foreign firms whose host country does not enforce the same rigorous AML expectations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bank Policy Institute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"CollectionPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/\",\"name\":\"Ransomware Archives - Bank Policy Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Security\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Ransomware\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/\",\"name\":\"Bank Policy Institute\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bank Policy Institute\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cropped-bpi-favicon-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cropped-bpi-favicon-1.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Bank Policy Institute\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ransomware Archives - Bank Policy Institute","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ransomware Archives - Bank Policy Institute","og_description":"What is ransomware? Ransomware poses a prolific and grave threat to the U.S. economy, as demonstrated by the 2021 Colonial Pipeline incident, which showed the staggering impacts ransomware attacks can have on both businesses and households. In 2020, adjusted losses from ransomware reached $29.1 million, according to the FBI, up from $8.9 million in 2019. However, since victims rarely report ransomware payments to their financial institution or law enforcement, some estimates indicate that total losses may be closer to $350 million per year. Ransomware is a type of malicious software (or malware) that prevents a business or individual from accessing computer files, systems or networks until a ransom is paid to restore normal operations. Ransomware is often delivered through phishing emails that appear to come from legitimate customers or contacts; these emails will contain links or attachments that, when clicked on, may take control of the user\u2019s computer and potentially infect other files on the network. These incidents can severely disrupt business processes and block access to critical data. Criminals use these disruptions and the threat of public disclosure to their advantage to demand payment from their victims, typically in the form of cryptocurrency.\u00a0 Cryptocurrency offers the advantage of anonymity while also making it easy for criminals to verify \u2014 using publicly available blockchain data \u2014 that a payment has been completed. Victims who decide to pay the demand are usually given instructions on how to restore normal operations; those that don\u2019t risk being permanently shut out of their systems or having their data exposed to the public. While U.S.-based cryptocurrency firms are subject to anti-money laundering (AML) requirements, many ransomware operators are located outside U.S. jurisdiction and solicit payments through foreign firms whose host country does not enforce the same rigorous AML expectations.","og_url":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/","og_site_name":"Bank Policy Institute","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"CollectionPage","@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/","url":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/","name":"Ransomware Archives - Bank Policy Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/ransomware\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Security","item":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/category\/security\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Ransomware"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/","name":"Bank Policy Institute","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#organization","name":"Bank Policy Institute","url":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cropped-bpi-favicon-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cropped-bpi-favicon-1.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Bank Policy Institute"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taxonomies\/category"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/67"}],"wp:post_type":[{"href":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts?categories=199"},{"href":"https:\/\/bpi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events?categories=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}