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BlackBerry says its new anti-ransomware code can avoid an all-out freeze

BlackBerry says its new anti-ransomware code can avoid an all-out freeze
Photo Credit: Pixabay
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Canada-based BlackBerry Ltd has released a code that can contain ransomware by freezing only affected accounts, a sharp contrast to most other solutions that enforce a companywide rollback causing loss of data even for uncontaminated systems, a press statement said.

The update comes at a time when malware continues to extort businesses as well as ordinary Internet users. Ransomware attacks were the most common type of malware in 2017, going by Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report. And it's projected that, by the end of 2019, a business will be hit by a ransomware attack every 14 seconds, with the resulting damage costs set to reach $11.5 billion annually, said Cybersecurity Ventures.

The update for BlackBerry’s content collaboration platform, Workspaces, will enable the administrator to check user logs to pinpoint which folders and files have been affected. The administrator will also be able to selectively roll impacted files back to pre-attack versions and without restrictions on how far back they can recover, BlackBerry said.

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“Beyond data loss, opportunity costs, and reputational risks, downtime resulting from ransomware attacks can inflict real harm on customers in any industry, including healthcare or public safety, where the consequences of any delay can be catastrophic,” said Billy Ho, executive vice-president of enterprise products, BlackBerry. 

According to the company, the ability to precisely remove the infected files helps organisations to avoid the loss of work and productivity that often come with system-wide recovery mechanisms.

"It is critical that organisations also have a layered defence model in place and an enterprise technology stack that is designed with the breach in mind,” Ho said.
 
Formerly known as Research In Motion (RIM), the company used to make the popular Qwerty-keyboards-based smartphones. However, over the last few years, touch smartphones have taken over the market and BlackBerry is now an enterprise software and services company focused on securing and managing Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints.

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BlackBerry was founded in 1984 and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and The New York Stock Exchange.


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