Digital extortion by means of ransomware or a systems breach was one of the most prominent threats to consumers and businesses in 2016. It seems IBM Security’s prediction materialized quite excessively this past year.

Ransomware is a generic name for a family of computer bugs programmed to lock up endpoints, such as PCs, servers or mobile devices, in various ways. Ransomware encrypts data on the endpoint or revokes access to the endpoint itself, then asks the victim to pay a ransom to regain control of the endpoint. A ransomware attack can affect an individual or organization anywhere in the world.