You will research and analyse a cyber security issue currently facing Australia. Such research and
analysis can better inform organisations about their choices for equipment , software , services , and
procedures with a view to improving their security posture

Ransomware, one of Australia's most well-known malware varieties, has become a prominent target of cybercriminals and cyber defenders alike. It allows a cybercriminal to restrict victim access to their data until a ransom is paid. Ransomware operates by encrypting data and ensuring that only someone with access to the decryption key can reverse the transformation and restore the original, useable version. 

Step-by-step explanation

Ransomware, one of Australia's most well-known malware varieties, has become a prominent target of cybercriminals and cyber defenders alike. It allows a cybercriminal to restrict victim access to their data until a ransom is paid. Ransomware operates by encrypting data and ensuring that only someone with access to the decryption key can reverse the transformation and restore the original, useable version. Although the cost of resolving a ransomware attack is often more than the required ransom, best practices dictate that ransoms should not be paid since they allow hackers to continue operating and conducting future attacks. By collecting data from compromised systems before encrypting it, ransomware operators may threaten to disclose it if the victim does not pay the ransom. Depending on the kind of data acquired and leaked, this might result in an organization losing its competitive edge or running afoul of data protection rules, such as the General Data Protection Regulation for failing to secure client data entrusted to it. The loss of access to essential data motivates a victim to pay a ransom. Once the extortion is paid, the ransomware operator need only release a brief decryption key to restore access to all encrypted data. Cybercriminals' rising frequency of activity is exacerbated by the complexity and sophistication of their activities.

 In Australia, the number of organizations affected by ransomware more than quadrupled in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, and the healthcare and utility industries have been the most targeted sectors since April 2021. Double extortion has been successful in 2020, especially with the onset of the Covid-19 epidemic. Over the 2020-21 financial year, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on Australian people, organizations, and government institutions' online participation. The epidemic has dramatically expanded Australia's reliance on the internet for distant employment, access to services and information, communication, and the continuation of everyday life. This reliance has widened the attack surface and created more chances for malevolent cyber actors to target weak targets in Australia. The ACSC received approximately 67,500 cybercrime complaints for 2020-21, a roughly 13% increase over the previous fiscal year. The rise in cybercrime reporting volume translates to one report of a cyber attack every eight minutes, up from one every ten minutes in the previous fiscal year. The ACSC classified a more significant percentage of cyber security events as substantial in the impact this fiscal year. This shift is partly a result of the increased reporting of cybercriminal assaults on more prominent organizations and the observed effect on victims, including multiple instances of data loss and service disruption.
Assessing risk should always be the first step toward enhancing security posture; it enables enterprises to understand their business's security condition fully. Conducting a cybersecurity risk assessment enables the identification of all potentially exploitable vulnerabilities across all assets. An incident management strategy is a critical component of an organization's proactive approach to security. Without an incident management strategy, IT personnel would be at a loss for where to begin in the event of a security breach. Establishing a process for responding to a breach helps decrease the time required to remediate in the future. Knowing which teams will be responsible for specific tasks will facilitate communication and cooperation during this event. Integrating security testing into routine application monitoring is facilitated by using a security testing approach.