Ransomware attacks up 46% in Q2: Kaspersky

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ransomware attacks saw an increase of 46% in the second quarter of 2019, announced global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky on Wednesday.

Over 202,000 users were attacked during April-June, up from about 159,000 in the same period last year, the Russian-based company said in a written statement.

Ransomware -- a kind of malware -- locks or limits using computers' hard drives until a ransom is paid to an illegal organization.

Kaspersky also said that the number of ransomware versions doubled in the second quarter.

Nearly a quarter of all attacks were made by a ransomware family named "WannaCry," although the software giant Microsoft published a patch against this malware two years ago.

Another major threat was Gandcrab ransomware, which was seen in 13.8% of all attacks.

The firm said users should update their operating systems, back up their files, and save them in cloud-storing devices against ransomware attacks.

It added that people should use decoder software to save their locked files instead of paying ransoms to illegal organizations.