Ransom demands, extortion, and gang activity have been baked into the global crime landscape for generations. Cybercrime experts warn that in 2016, these classic criminal behaviors are going digital, and will become much more difficult to stop. With predictions anticipating a 3 to 1 ratio of connected devices to people in 2020, many old-fashioned forms of illegal behavior are expanding into the Internet\u2019s wild, unchecked frontier at alarming rates.<\/p>\n
Extortion<\/strong><\/p>\n Cyber extortion, which entails publically revealing private or embarrassing hacked information, is reaching an all-time high in 2016. Cybercriminals are profiting off targets by threatening to release private pictures, personal information, or embarrassing secrets if demands aren\u2019t met. A high-profile example was the recent hack of Ashley Madison, a website that facilitates adulterous affairs between its users. In this case, criminals threatened to reveal names attached to Ashley Madison accounts unless users paid the hackers steep prices.<\/p>\n Holding Users Hostage<\/strong><\/p>\n The proliferation of \u201cransomware\u201d has transferred this old-fashioned criminal behavior into the digital sphere. 2016 has seen a marked spike in cybercriminals\u2019 use of ransomware, which is the term used for programs designed to hold victims\u2019 digital information hostage until a ransom has been paid.<\/p>\n Advanced ransomware is even capable of penetrating smart devices, like Internet connected cars, medical devices, and household appliances. Cybercriminals have the ability to hijack virtually any connected device, and request inordinate ransom prices from victims.<\/p>\n In the first three months of 2016, over $200 million in ransom money was paid to criminals holding data hostage. This amount is eight times as much as the total ransomware demands paid in all<\/em> of 2015!<\/p>\n Read More: <\/strong>Cybersecurity Threats You Should Watch for in 2016<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The Globalization of Cybercrime<\/strong><\/p>\n Cybercrime networks are expanding, and becoming more advanced, with gangs of online criminals using cutting-edge tools to break into private connected devices, selling access to the highest bidder. Cybercriminals in developing countries, like Nigeria, are also becoming more sophisticated with their online attacks. Military conflicts throughout the world can cause an increase in cyber assaults, as extensive damage can be inflicted by hacking groups who don\u2019t have any physical military force.<\/p>\n PSafe Security<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s clear to see that it\u2019s a dangerous world we\u2019re living in when it comes to data security. Don\u2019t put the data, and personal information on your Android phone at risk. If you\u2019re concerned about your phone\u2019s security, give it the added protection it needs with PSafe TOTAL<\/a><\/strong>. PSafe TOTAL\u2019s antivirus software will help secure all of the private data on your Android phone, and ensure your connected devices are safe and sound.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Advances in technology have led traditional criminal activity to evolve, and enter the digital world. Are you prepared?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1455,1461,259,53,182,1458,161],"class_list":["post-2031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-security","tag-crimes","tag-cybercrimes","tag-hackers","tag-internet","tag-malware","tag-ransomware","tag-virus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}