State agencies are not exempt from cyberattacks in the form of a ransomware virus. Just look at all the government agencies who have been messed with, compromised and downright hijacked.
How Cybercriminals Attack
Cybercriminals use multiple methods to attack and infect computers with a virus. The most common is is a phishing attack, where the hacker sends a supposedly legitimate message with an attachment to the target victims.
While most types of ransomware target user-specific Documents folders within Windows, some versions will also scan the host system, including any connected drives—such as external USB and mapped network drives with user write access.
Dangerous Effects To Organizations
A ransomware attack can deeply and badly affect government agency organizations in a lot of different ways, the most obvious being that it gains access to the necessary files on how to remove the encryption, thereby stealing the keys the castle. And there are more repercussions, to be sure. If news of the attack becomes widespread, the organization could suffer a damaged reputation—and consequently, a significant (if not permanent), loss in ongoing business and profit. And don’t forget about the cost of a post-attack investigation, why you will need if you hope to salvage any professional relationships and assure them about your new data security process.
Protected Computers
The anti-malware defenses of government agencies and other organizations should evolve to keep up with the increasingly sophisticated methods used to distribute viruses including ransomware. A good antivirus software successfully protects computers against viruses, trojan horses, worms, spyware, backdoors, rootkits, adware and other malware infections, including the most dangerous zero-day malware as well.