Empirical Analysis and Practical Assessment of Ransomware Attacks to Data in Motion
Raúl Reinosa Simón, Clara I. Valero, José A. Martínez Cadenas, Elisa Heymann, Ignacio Lacalle, Barton P. Miller, Carlos Enrique Palau · 2024
In recent years, ransomware has established itself as one of the most persistent and devastating threats in cybersecu-rity. Traditionally, these attacks have focused on data at rest, encrypting files and demanding a ransom for their recovery. However, an alarming trend has emerged: ransomware for attacks to data in motion. This data, which includes information transmitted over networks, is critical to the day-to-day operations of organisations and often receives less protection than stored data. This paper aims to explore and characterise these new ransomware threats for attacks to data in motion. It also aims to test the feasibility of these attacks through the creation and implementation of a laboratory environment, as well as to analyse the potential consequences (based on likelihood and impact assessments) of such attacks if they were to be carried out, providing a comprehensive view of the potential emerging risks and warning of the need to create tools for the prevention, detection and mitigation of these attacks.