30 Dec Ransomware Turns 35. How It All Started In 1989.
This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine
–Sausalito, Calif. – Dec. 30, 2024
The first event considered to be a ransomware attack happened in 1989, according to CNBC.
A hacker physically mailed floppy disks claiming to contain software that could help determine whether someone was at risk of developing AIDs.
However, when installed, the software would hide directories and encrypt file names on people’s computers after they’d rebooted 90 times.
It would then display a ransom note requesting a cashier’s check to be sent to an address in Panama for a license to restore the files and directories.
The program became known by the cybersecurity community as the “AIDs Trojan.”
Now, 35 years later, as the ransomware industry continues to evolve, experts are predicting hackers will find more and more ways of using the technology to exploit businesses and individuals.
By 2031, ransomware is predicted to cost victims a combined $265 billion annually, according to a report from Cybersecurity Ventures.
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