Why ransomware cyberattacks are on the rise

A recent spate of ransomware attacks has left the nation reeling.

What often begins as an employee clicking a seemingly innocuous link in their email can result in a crisis that brings multibillion dollar businesses to their knees, stokes geopolitical tensions and has ripple effects throughout the global economy. A recent spate of ransomware attacks has crippled critical American infrastructure, disrupted major food supply chains and revealed that no firm -- big or small -- is safe from these insidious cyberattacks. Ransomware strikes have surged over the past year due to a confluence of factors, experts say, including the rise of hard-to-trace cryptocurrency, a work-from-home boom that has resulted in new IT vulnerabilities and a political climate marked by ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Russia -- the nation from which many of these attacks are believed to emanate. The recent attack on Colonial Pipeline, operators of one of the United States' largest fuel conduits, also showed that victims are forced to decide between paying criminals their ransom demands or being unable to operate their businesses. The cyberattack led to a multiday shutdown for the pipeline that provides nearly half of all fuel consumed on the East Coast. As a result, panic-buying pushed gas prices to their highest levels in seven years just ahead of Memorial Day weekend travel.