Watch out for ransomware in 2018: report:

Watch out for ransomware in 2018: report:

Context

The McAfee Labs 2018 Threats Predictions Report

What does the report say?

• Ransomware attacks in the cyberspace are likely to increase and become more sophisticated in 2018 targeting high net worth individuals and corporates
• Individual home users having greater inter-connected home devices will surrender consumer privacy to corporates

Observations

• The profitability of traditional ransomware campaigns will continue to decline as vendor defenses, user education, and industry strategies improve to counter them. Attackers will adjust to target less traditional, more profitable ransomware targets, including high net-worth individuals, connected devices, and businesses
• The evolution of ransomware in 2017 should remind us of how aggressively a threat can reinvent itself as attackers dramatically innovate and adjust to the successful efforts of defenders
• As consumers increasingly network their homes, the report warns that connected home device manufacturers and service providers will seek to overcome “thin profit margins by gathering more of our personal data—with or without our agreement—turning the home into a corporate store front.”
• As customers rarely read privacy agreements, corporations will be tempted to frequently change them after the devices and services are deployed to capture more information and revenue
• There will be regulatory consequences for corporations that make the calculation to break existing laws, pay fines, and continue such practices, thinking they can do so profitably