Emsisoft Declares Ransomware Crisis

Internationally renowned security software company Emsisoft has declared a ransomware crisis and called on governments to take immediate action to improve their security and mitigate risks. 

So serious is the threat posed by ransomware that the New Zealand company has published a report into the effects of the malware on the United States three weeks earlier than planned in an effort to prevent further attacks.

The State of Ransomware in the US: Report and Statistics 2019 was rushed out today along with a plea for urgent action. The publication date was revised following the recent $1 million Maze ransomware attack on the Florida city of Pensacola. 

"This report was originally scheduled to be published on January 1st, 2020. We have, however, decided to release it immediately due to a recent incident in which a ransomware attack may have resulted in a municipal government’s data falling into the hands of cyber-criminals," wrote Emsisoft researchers.

"We believe this development elevates the ransomware threat to crisis level and that governments must act immediately to improve their security and mitigate risks. If they do not, it is likely that similar incidents will also result in the extremely sensitive information which governments hold being stolen and leaked.” 

So far this year, 948 government agencies, educational establishments and healthcare providers in the United States have been impacted by ransomware. According to the report, the potential cost of these attacks could exceed $7.5 billion.

As a result of the unprecedented swathe of attacks, emergency patients had to be redirected to other hospitals, medical rec ..

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