Ransomware cyberattacks rack up victims, creating millions in revenue

Ransomware cyberattacks are on the rise, and businesses must be ready to address the threat head on, with law enforcement constantly one step behind.

The FBI previously issued a warning regarding ransomware attacks, especially as cybercriminals tweak their malware code. Similar to statements issued by cybersecurity experts, the FBI says users should be extremely careful when opening email attachments - the most popular infection method to compromise business users.

The authors of the CryptoLocker ransomware were able to quickly generate at least $3 million in revenue from ransomware attacks, collecting hundreds of dollars in ransom at a time. Cybercriminals are opportunistic and will continue to rely on ransomware attacks as long as they easily find victims installing the malware on PCs and laptops.

"When they attack a big corporation that has a lot of sensitive data, that's probably a big success for them," said Nyika Allen, from the New Mexico Tech Council, in a statement published by KRQE. "But then you also have to think about how difficult that is. Because those big companies probably spend a lot of time and energy cutting those people out, making sure they can't get in, that there's no holes in any of their software."