Abstract:
Ransomware attacks are frequent, disruptive, and costly, but paying a ransom to the perpetrators as a quick fix is a bad idea. Ransom payments usually don't guarantee the return of all the stolen data or prevent further attacks. Even the data that's returned may have been encrypted or compromised. That's why ransomware attacks must be prevented before they happen. And if they do occur, a foolproof data backup and recovery process must be in place to avoid suffering the consequences of paying a ransom and rewarding bad behavior.
