Ransomware is a malicious code. A ransomware infection scans through a device’s drives, targeting specific file extensions. When the scan is complete, the ransomware encrypts these files, locking the user out.

Encryption was originally introduced to secure data storage and transfers, so that only authorized people could access the information. Decrypting the protected information is only possible using the digital key that was used for encoding.

Because the ransomware encrypts the files with a key that only the hackers hold, the only chance to regain access to the infected computer is to pay the ransom.

Ransomware can strike through phishing emails, outdated software, compromised websites, poisoned online advertising or free software downloads. Servers, desktops and all types of mobile devices are at risk of infection.

All it takes for ransomware to infect a company is one user making the mistake of opening a malicious attachment.

Ransomware will also use the local network to encrypt files located on network drives and spread to other computers. This is how a single infected user can bring a department or an entire organization to its knees.

Spear-phishing is a targeted attempt to steal sensitive information such as account credentials or financial information from a specific victim, often for malicious reasons.

This is achieved by acquiring personal details on the victim such as their friends, hometown, employer, locations they frequent, and what they have recently bought online. The attackers then disguise themselves as a trustworthy friend or entity to acquire sensitive information, typically through email or other online messaging.

This is the most successful form of acquiring confidential information on the internet, accounting for 91% of attacks.

The act of spear-phishing may sound simple, but spear-phishing emails have improved within the past few years and are now extremely difficult to detect without prior knowledge on spear-phishing protection. Spear-phishing attackers target victims who put personal information on the internet.

They might view individual profiles while scanning a social networking site. From a profile, they will be able to find a person’s email address, friends list, geographic location, and any posts about new gadgets that were recently purchased.

With all of this information, the attacker would be able to act as a friend or a familiar entity and send a convincing but fraudulent message to their target.

Email spoofing is the fabrication of an email header in the hopes of duping the recipient into thinking the email originated from someone or somewhere other than the intended source. Because core email protocols do not have a built-in method of authentication, it is commonplace for spam and phishing emails to use said spoofing to trick the recipient into trusting the origin of the message.

The ultimate goal of email spoofing is to get recipients to open, and possibly even respond to, a solicitation. Although the spoofed messages are usually just a nuisance requiring little action besides removal, the more malicious varieties can cause significant problems, and sometimes pose a real security threat.

Although most well-known for phishing purposes, there are actually several reasons for spoofing sender addresses. These reasons can include:

• Hiding the sender’s true identity – though if this is the only goal, it can be achieved more easily by registering anonymous mail addresses.
• Avoiding spam blacklists. If a sender is spamming, they are bound to be blacklisted quickly. A simple solution to this problem is to switch email addresses.
• Pretending to be someone the recipient knows, in order to, for example, ask for sensitive information or access to personal assets.
• Pretending to be from a business the recipient has a relationship with, as means of getting ahold of bank login details or other personal data.
• Tarnishing the image of the assumed sender, a character attack that places the so-called sender in a bad light.
• Sending messages in someone’s name can also be used to commit identity theft, for example, by requesting information from the victims financial or healthcare accounts.

Worm–  the distinctive trait of the worm is that it’s self-replicating. What makes an effective worm so devastating is its ability to spread without end-user action.

Trojan–  Trojans masquerade as legitimate programs, but they contain malicious instructions.The most popular Trojan type is the fake antivirus program, which pops up and claims you’re infected, then instructs you to run a program to clean your PC.

Fileless malware – which today comprises over 50 percent of all malware and growing, is malware that doesn’t directly use files or the file system. Instead they exploit and spread in memory only or using other “non-file” OS objects such as registry keys, APIs or scheduled tasks.

• Stealing password and other sensitive information.
• Performance issues and damages to computer hardware.
• Phishing attacks.
• Ransomware attacks.