Colombia was the Latin American country most affected by ransomware in 2018

We started the year with some disturbing news. This is a report from ESET's cyber security company that, as usual, shares information about the threats that computer users must face every day. These data are of particular interest to Colombia, since it was the most affected country ransomware in 2018.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that has been very popular in recent years. When it infects a system, it tries to encrypt its files so that they are not available to the user. In other words: it is a virus that blocks files, programs or can even disable a device. This is for the purpose of blackmailing the user to pay a "redemption" for their valuable information.

A large number of Colombians were victims of this practice in 2018. As the ESET report indicates, during that year there was a 199% increase in ransomware cases compared to 2017.

Incredibly, 30% of all cases of ransomware in Latin America occurred in Colombia. This position reached him in the second half of the year, because before he only ranked fourth.

It was all due to a virus named "Crysis", which spread quickly through e-mail. The operation was the same: a purported portfolio collection company sent a debt to a mobile phone company. The victim usually cares about this alleged debt, so download and open the attached file to review it. At this point, the machine is infected by malicious software.

The numbers that emerged from this approach the absurd. Of representing 5% of the cases of & # 39; Crysis & # 39; around the world in June, Colombia contributed almost 50% in August.

Other affected countries

Although Colombia has been very poor in this regard, there are other countries that must also be careful. At the Latin American level, Peru (16%), Mexico (14%) and Brazil (11%) are the ones that reach Colombia in the ranking with the most ransomware detections.

Meanwhile, the United States (9%) and Russia (7%) are the top two on the list internationally. In this regard, Colombia is in seventh place.