Glossary

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is now one of the biggest threats to companies’ cybersecurity. The principle behind it: Criminals infiltrate malware into the company network, often via an infected email. If employees click on a manipulated attachment, for example, all data on the affected servers is encrypted.

Subsequent decryption without the support of the perpetrators is usually virtually impossible. The term ransomware is derived from the English word ransom, as the perpetrators only promise to provide the decryption code in return for payment of a ransom, often in the form of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. However, investigating authorities and cyber security experts unanimously warn against responding to these demands, as there is no guarantee that the attackers will actually keep their promise.

To ensure cybersecurity in the long term, experts recommend modern disaster recovery concepts instead. In the event of damage, the encrypted data is removed and restored from a current backup. A regularly maintained and tested backup ensures that data loss remains minimal in the event of an emergency and that the IT infrastructure can be restored quickly.