Ransomware taking digital data hostage

Abstract

Digital data from around the world is being taken hostage. The data is freed only if victims pay ransoms. Taking digital data hostage is one of the most common and worrisome trends in the dark virtual world of cybercrime. In May and June of this year, governments, corporations, and individuals across the globe fell victim to two rounds of sophisticated ransomware attacks. Both cyberattacks used the same hacking tools that were stolen from the US National Security Agency within the last year by a mysterious group of hackers known as the Shadow Brokers.