No More Ransom (NMR) is an initiative by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, the National High Tech Crime Unit of the Netherlands’ police, and McAfee, help victims of ransomware retrieve their encrypted data without having to pay the criminals.
In its five years of existence, No More Ransom has facilitated to prevent about a billion euros from ending up in criminals’ pockets.
Ransomware enables criminals to steal all digital information that is stored. This type of malicious attack has become extremely widespread, causing huge damage to private users and organizations worldwide. That is the reason why to beware and protect the digital world.
The decryption tools, once downloaded and launched, would help victims of specific ransomware families get their data back without paying any ransom. The website also contains prevention advice and instructions on how to report cybercrime in a particular country.
According to the post published by Europol, “the No More Ransom repository has helped more than six million people to recover their files for free. This prevented criminals from earning almost a billion euros through ransomware attacks.”
Additionally, they are offering 121 free tools able to decrypt 151 ransomware families, it unites 170 partners from the public and private sector. The portal is available in 37 languages.
“A new No More Ransom website has been launched to mark the project’s fifth year. Modern and more user-friendly, the new home of the Crypto Sheriff offers updated information on ransomware, as well as advice on how to prevent a ransomware infection.” reads the post published by Europol.
“The partnership between law enforcement and private industry has contributed to the success of No More Ransom by helping victims and reducing criminal profits.”
Recommendations to Individuals and Companies of all Sizes
- Regularly back up data stored on your electronic devices.
- Watch your clicks – do you know where a link will take you?
- Beware of attachments in emails.
- Ensure that your security software and operating system are up to date.
- If you become a victim, do not pay! Report the crime and check No More Ransom for decryption tools.
Therefore, if any of the tools provided by the No More Ransom website are useful to the users, they can quickly learn through the site’s ‘Crypto Sheriff feature’, which determines the type of ransomware based on encrypted files, the ransom note, email addresses, URLs or cryptocurrency wallet addresses.
