Cyberattacks involving extortion are rising, says Verizon

London

CYBERATTACKS involving ransomware - in which criminals use malicious software to encrypt a users' data and then extort money to unencrypt it - increased 50 per cent in 2016, according to a report from Verizon Communications Inc.

And criminals increasingly shifted from going after individual consumers to attacking vulnerable organisations and businesses, the report said. Government organisations were the most frequent target of these ransomware attacks, followed by healthcare businesses and financial services, according to data from security company McAfee Inc, which partnered with Verizon on the report published on Thursday.