“No More Ransom” Initiative Wants To End Ransomware

The fight against ransomware is in full effect, as some of the biggest players in the industry are teaming up. A new collaboration between Intel, Kaspersky, and Europol, seeks to shut down down ransomware once and for all. For the time being, it remains to be seen how they will achieve this, although there are some things they can do to bring this cyber threat to a halt.

Bringing Down Ransomware To Its Knees

Every initiative in the technology world needs a cool nickname. No More Ransom may not spark the imagination right away, but the name does indicate what this collaboration is all about. It is the first time Kaspersky Lab, the Dutch police, and Europol team up for such a massive undertaking.

Informing the general masses about the dangers of ransomware is a good start. Far too many people use the Internet every day without worrying about the potential consequences. Moreover, the majority of malware infections stems forth from user error, usually by clicking malicious website links or opening email attachments.

But the biggest concern about ransomware is how infected users can restore access to their computer files. Some versions of malware can be decrypted without users having to pay anything. The majority of ransomware strains, however, is not so easy to bypass. Now that the number of ransomware attacks continues to increase, finding solutions becomes all the more important.

Not paying the ransom is the most obvious course of action, albeit it is not without its drawbacks either. Every time somebody makes a payment, they inadvertently keep fueling the underground economy of black hat hackers and internet criminals. As word spreads regarding these lucrative business models, more attacks will occur all over the world.

Coordinating the efforts between Kaspersky Lab, the Dutch police, and Europol is a smart strategy at this stage. The real threat ransomware poses can only be tackled head-on, and in a proactive manner. Helping people gain an understanding of the dangers that lie ahead is just the first step in the process, though. It will be interesting to see how this collaboration evolves over time.

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