LockBit Ransomware: Understanding and Recognising Its Real Danger
The cybersecurity landscape is in constant evolution, with new threats emerging daily. Among these, LockBit ransomware stands out as one of the most aggressive and rapidly spreading.
We seek to unravel how LockBit works, discuss its impact, and provide guidance on how individuals and organisations can protect themselves against this dangerous cyber threat.
What is LockBit?
LockBit is a ransomware group operating in a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) mode, encrypting victims’ data and demanding a ransom for the decryption of the encrypted data. First appearing in 2019, LockBit quickly became infamous for its efficiency in encrypting networks of global organisations, leaving a trail of destruction wherever it passed.
The group uses sophisticated techniques to infiltrate corporate networks. Once inside, it spreads swiftly, encrypting all accessible files. LockBit is also known for stealing data before encrypting it, using the threat of data leakage as a lever to facilitate extortion for ransom payment.
It can be said that LockBit is the most attacking ransomware group currently, with a high level of success in its attacks, making it arguably the largest existing group. However, it was not responsible for the largest ransomware attack in history; this dubious honour goes to the Kaseya incident on July 2, 2021, when several managed service providers and their clients were victims of a ransomware attack by the REvil group, causing widespread downtime for over 1,000 companies.
What to Do in Case of Data Loss?
The biggest question after a ransomware attack is whether it is possible to recover the data without paying the hackers’ extortion. The answer to this is a big “it depends” – there are many factors to consider in assessing whether data recovery will be successful or not, such as: were the files corrupted during the encryption process? Were the data overwritten? What encryption was used by the attacking group? And many other questions.
Data recovery experts at Digital Recovery state that it is not possible to guarantee precise chances of recovery, but that the recovery process is always an attempt. Data recovery companies have advanced technologies capable of helping companies and individuals recover their data, eliminating the need for extortion payments.
You can find out more about the available solutions from Digital Recovery by visiting: https://digitalrecovery.com/uk/decrypt-ransomware/
