Ransomware is a kind of malware that typically encrypts data, blocking access to it until a fee is paid to the attacker. While the hype used to outweigh the actual risk, ransomware has evolved, spread and grown rapidly more sophisticated in response to our efforts to defend against it.

There have been some high-profile ransomware attacks in the last few years, as part of a growing tide of threats. Ransomware volumes increased by 350% in 2017 alone, according to a recent NTT Security report. Security professionals tasked with safeguarding company data must have ransomware on their radars and it’s crucial to take steps to mitigate the threat.