Ransomware attacks such as at South Bend's Allied Physicians are becoming common

"“It would be hard to prove that records haven’t been made,” said Scott Shackelford, a cybersecurity expert and associate professor of business law and ethics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

SamSam works by gaining access to a computer system and encrypting all of the data so that it is useless unless a ransom is paid. Once that happens — generally with Bitcoin or some other type of cryptocurrency — thieves provide a key to unlock the data.

“This is only getting worse,” said Shackelford, adding that cyberattack tools are available for rent on the dark web — that portion of the web that generally cannot be accessed by traditional search engines."

• Date Published:05/26/2018
• Original Publication:South Bend Tribune