RANSOMEWARE - THE CAPTURE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICE DATA

From Cyprus Police:

Ransomware is a malware that is secretly installed on the victim's device (computer, mobile phone, electronic tablet) and places its data in a state of confinement. 

In this way, criminals block the victim from accessing some or all of his computer's data. They even ask the victim to pay them a sum of money as a ransom to release the computer and the victim to recover his data. 

How does it spread? Ransomware software spreads in various ways on our devices. That is why we should always be very careful. 

Visits to unsafe websites, downloading and installing software and applications from unsafe sources and opening malicious links or attachments that we receive via email are some of these ways. Also, our device may become infected after connecting to infected storage devices such as hard disks and USB.  


How to protect yourself Protecting our devices from such attacks is our responsibility. In fact, for our best protection, we must always act as a precaution.

It is essential for the security of our data, to create and maintain regular copies of our Backup data on the cloud or on an external disk. These copies should not be stored on the internal drive, but only on an external device that you will not have permanently connected to your computer.

For the security of your mobile devices, you only download apps from certified app stores. It is also good to download and install on your device security applications that can protect it from all threats.

Ensure that your operating software and device security software are always up to date. Know that criminals are looking for and exploiting any safety gaps in the devices.

Do not open addresses or attachments sent to you from suspicious emails you may have received. Be also very careful when surfing the internet. Avoid visiting unsafe web pages and clicking, pop-ups or instant messages. Emails and sites that seem suspicious or too nice to be true are good to be treated with great care and caution.

Equally important is to be careful and not to give up any of our rights to administer our device.

Are you infected? What to Do if your device is infected with ransomware malware and some data or your device is locked, do not panic. The sooner you can unplug your device from the internet to prevent the infection from expanding.    

Do not pay the ransom that the criminals may ask you to. If you do, you will fund them to continue their illegal work. At the same time, however, there is no one who can guarantee that if the ransom is paid, the criminals will "free up" your device. In many cases, despite the ransom payment, criminals returned with new claims for more money.

Contact the Police and report the incident. Keep in mind that the more information you give to police officers, the more effectively they can deal with the action of criminals.