It sounds like the script from an episode of CSI: a family member is kidnapped and a ransom demanded.
The options do not look good. The drama builds. What is the next move?
Then, using just the right strategy and tools, the stars of the show are able to bring your family member back to you safely and--surprise--you never had to pay the ransom!
If only real life could work like that.
It actually can, and it has, for tens of thousands of people whose precious digital devices have been held hostage by ransomware. They are getting their data and documents back without ever paying for it.
The initiative was started in Europe, one year ago, by Dutch National Police and Europol. And now comes the progress report on the No More Ransom initiative.
Its founders say it has helped people around the world with the ransomware decryption tools at its website. And they believe it will make a much bigger impact during its second year in operation.
Europol says, "The site now carries 54 decryption tools covering 104 kinds (families) of ransomware. So far, these tools have managed to decrypt more than 28,000 devices, depriving cybercriminals of an estimated EUR 8 million in ransoms."
Ransomware Numbers 2017
The initiative leaders say the total number of worldwide users experiencing ransomware April 2016 to March 2017 was 2,581,026 which was an 11% increase over the prior 12 months.
This may be a major reason why the initiative has grown and is now made up of more than 100 partners with no boundaries between public organizations and the private sector.
And because ransomware is international, so is the site.
"The No More Ransom platform is now available in 26 languages, with the most recent additions Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish, Tamil and Thai," says Europol.
At the centerpiece of it all is what the No More Ransom initiative calls its Crypto Sheriff. The Sheriff is essentially a free ransomware removal tool that will analzye the type of malware you are infected with. Be sure to bookmark it.
That way if someone you know (or work with) gets hit by ransomware, you can potentially be the star of the episode and try to bring back their precious digital files without ever paying the ransom.
End of story disclaimer: Hollywood endings are never guaranteed. This is especially true when the 'writers' are constantly changing the script.
