5 ways to become a smaller target for ransomware hackers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hacking for ransom is on the rise — on pace to beat out last year's figures — and hits people where it hurts, locking them out of files, photos and critical records until they pay hackers a bounty to restore their access.

Hackers bait users to click on infected email links or open infected attachments, or they take advantage of outdated and vulnerable systems.

Victims see important files scrambled into encrypted gobbledygook, as an electronic ransom note warns that if they ever want to see those files again in a readable format, they must pay money in virtual currency, known as bitcoin.

[...] losses are significantly higher than any paid ransoms because companies routinely include remediation costs, lost productivity, legal fees and sometimes even the price of lost data in their estimates.

If you're facing a ransom demand and locked out of your files, law enforcement and cybersecurity experts discourage paying ransoms because it incentivizes hackers and pays for their future attacks.

Many organizations without updated backups may decide regaining access to critical files, such as customer data, and avoiding public embarrassment is worth the cost.