Dating back to the 1980s, ransomware is a form of malware used by cybercriminals to lock files on a person's computer and demand payment to unlock them. The technology — which officially turned 35 in December — has come a long way, with criminals now able to spin up ransomware much faster and deploy it across multiple targets. Experts expect ransomware to evolve even further, with modern-day cloud computing tech, artificial intelligence and geopolitics shaping its future.
Ransomware is now a billion-dollar industry. But it wasn't always that large — nor was it a prevalent cybersecurity risk like it is today. Dating back to the 1980s, ransomware is a form of malware used by cybercriminals to lock files on a person's computer and demand payment to unlock them. The technology — which officially turned 35 on Dec. 12 — has come a long way, with criminals now able to spin up ransomware much faster and deploy it across multiple targets.A hacker physically mailed floppy disks claiming to contain software that could help determine whether someone was at risk of developing AIDs. However, when installed, the software would hide directories and encrypt file names on people's computers after they'd rebooted 90 times. It would then display a ransom note requesting a cashier's check to be sent to an address in Panama for a license to restore the files and directories.'It was the first ransomware and it came from someone's imagination. It wasn't something that they'd read about or that had been researched,' Martin Lee, EMEA lead for Talos, the cyber threat intelligence division of IT equipment giant Cisco, told CNBC in an interview. 'Prior to that, it was just never discussed. There wasn't even the theoretical concept of ransomware.' The perpetrator, a Harvard-taught biologist named Joseph Popp, was caught and arreste