Ransomware Attack and its Impact

Running head: RANSOMWARE ATTACK AND ITS IMPACT
Ransomware Attack and its Impact
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RANSOMWARE ATTACK AND ITS IMPACT1
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Discussion:.......................................................................................................................................2
Walkthrough on the operation of Ransomware Attack:..............................................................3
Behind the scene of Ransomware Attack:...................................................................................5
Mode of operation of Ransomware in the real world:.................................................................6
Outcome and Impact of the WannaCry Ransomware:................................................................7
Aim of Security that was breached and it is resulting consequences:.........................................7
Victim responsible for the attack:................................................................................................8
Action that should be taken to address the issue:........................................................................8
Conclusion:..................................................................................................................................8
References:....................................................................................................................................10
Bibliography:.................................................................................................................................11

RANSOMWARE ATTACK AND ITS IMPACT2
Introduction:
Cybersecurity is often denoted to as the grouping of technologies and practices associated
to it to protect network, devices, information and plans from the attack of unauthorized accesses.
With the gradual advancement of information technology, the rise of cyber-attacks is gradually
increasing, causing a breach of information of organization’s personal as well as sensitive data of
users in the course of dealing with business operations. Among the various types of cyber issues,
malware attacks are one of the significant kind responsible for all the types of cyber-attacks
taking place in the modern world. This report is hence prepared to reflect on the considerable
standards of malware attacks that are prevalent nowadays with special consideration to their
mode of operation and real-world case study based on the malware attack.
Discussion:
A malware attack is defined as the type of attack in the cyber world where malicious
activities are performed over software that is installed in the victim's computer without their
concern. Malware cyphers like Ransomware, spyware or adware are observed as impartial codes
or agendas that can be spread through other networks, producing them to implement on their
own. While injecting malware into the system, cybercriminals can access to any one's credential
account while stealing the victim’s data and causing damage to the entire system. Malware can
be of different types such as virus, worm, Trojan, Ransomware, Adware, Spyware and many
more. However, this report studies the major operation behind the particular kind of malware
attack that is the Ransomware Attack.

RANSOMWARE ATTACK AND ITS IMPACT3
Walkthrough on the operation of Ransomware Attack:
Ransomware is defined as the type of malware that causes cyber extortion leading to
financial gain. Once Ransomware gets activated into the user’s system, it stops the operators
from opening their files or any type of application schemes until and unless a ransom is rewarded
in the form of Bitcoin (O'Gorman, Gavin and McDonald). Ransomware is mainly spread via
phishing emails comprising spiteful attachments that get activated when the user transfers that
link. When a user downloads a link containing malware unknowingly, the entire network gets
infected by the malware causing exploitation of the web servers that are connected to the system.
The entire operation of Ransomware attack takes place via five main stages, which includes:
1. Installation Phase: During the installation phase, the computer of the victim gets infected
at the initial stage where a ransomware gets installed within the system while setting up
the Windows Registry Key that gets automatically initiated each time when a user boots
up the computer system (Salvi, Harshada and Kerkar).
2. Communicating with the Headquarters: As soon as the Ransomware gets injected within
the system it starts its operation while contacting with the server of the headquarter via
the cyber criminals.
3. Handshake and Keys: In the next step, an authentication process known as handshake is
carried in between the ransomware client and the server of the system (Salvi, Harshada
and Kerkar). The entire process then generates two kinds of Cryptographic keys. One of
these cryptographic keys remains within the computer of the victim while another one
gets stored within the server owned by the cybercriminal.