Cyber Security Ethical Issues Associated With Ransomware

Cyber Security

Ethical issues associated with ransomware

It is only natural that people who are known to you will send you messages through your email address. It is lost on me how those engaging in ransomware business access information about their potential victims like the email address as to send you messages that have been infected that when opened infect the whole computer. These people engage in irregular activities. For the residents of the United States it is even mind boggling for a law enforcing agency like the criminal investigation department to extort money from the citizens claiming that the affected parties visited illegal pornographic sites. The law is very clear incase one is caught violating law (IEEE, 2014). Such people should be subjected to the criminal justice system as opposed to extorting ransom from them. It is common for unsuspecting members of the public to use weak passwords for their email accounts. Such accounts are easily preyed on by cyber criminals. However, is it ethical for somebody to irregularly secure some important data and use it for his personal gain? Should such people capitalize on error by original owners for not using secure passwords to their e-mail accounts? Take an example of a homeowner who leaves his door unlocked. Does any one therefore have any right to break into his house by the virtue of the fact that he left his door unlocked? Theft of unprotected data that those engaging in ransomware business, capitalize on is definitely a matter that will certainly be a subject to discussion for a very long time. Another ethical issue that this case elicits is the issue of privacy to sensitive personal information (IEEE, 2014). Do individuals have rights to keep that information private especially in the context of the ransomware? An email address contains very crucial information about an individual including his business dealing. Anybody having access to such information can do damning damages to the affected individual. Crucial information like ones medical records and social security records can be accessed by the ransomware gangs by intercepting information in ones inbox. The economy has become more and more dependent on computer controlled devices. How much faith should be placed in the hands of software programs? Are the programs any safer and what mechanisms can be put in place to ensure that such programs are safe now that the ransomware gangs are targeting the program software? Now that the network of nuclear defense missiles is computerized will such crucial systems also fall to the hands of software gangs? Should human element be put in place to override potential consequences? The case study also brings into fore the issue of sabotage and destruction of data and safeguards that can be put in place to avert that (IEEE, 2014).

How computer users can prevent ransomware

Computer users should at no time open messages in the spam that have come from strange sources because it is such messages that end up infecting the whole computer system. It is also imperative that the passwords to the email addresses one uses have very strong security systems. Ransomware gangs often ask their victims to pay ransoms so that their computer systems are restored something that rarely happens. To be safe, one should move his data to cloud service offered by Google and other companies. This can act as some sort of security to avert the losses CryptoLocker subject ransomware victims to. One losses access to the files on his local machine and the files on the network file server. It affects all usable files ranging from the MP3s to the Microsoft Word documents. There are instances when system files and .exe are affected. Such files take such a long period of time to decrypt.

Apart from backing up your files there are no other avenues that can be used to prevent damages inflicted by CryptoLocker. Once you have discovered that your computer has been infected, the most logical thing to do is to disconnect it from the wireless or wired network. This prevents CryptoLocker from encrypting other files in the network. You should not remove the infection from the %AppData% folder until you have decided whether to pay or not to pay the ransom. Upon deciding not to pay the ransom you should delete the registry values and files. The programs will not load anymore. Data can then be restored using other methods.