FTC focuses on combating ransomware

Ransomware, where a hacker commandeers a user’s computer files and threatens to permanently delete them unless an extortion payment is made, is on a sharp uptick and now ranks “among the most troubling cyberthreats,” the head of the Federal Trade Commission is warning.

[ Related: The history of ransomware ]

FTC Chair Edith Ramirez addressed the issue at a recent forum that the agency convened to examine the spread of ransomware and explore strategies to combat the crime.

“The spate of ransomware incidents are escalating at an alarming rate,” Ramirez says, citing an estimate from the Department of Justice that incidents of ransomware, now averaging some 4,000 a day, have increased 300 percent in the past year.

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