Digitalisation is shaping everyday life: people are ordering goods online, booking their holidays online and using social media. Many users are not aware that the services concerned analyse their personal data, and that the results are then used for marketing purposes, for example, or that they may even be sold on to third parties. Digital footprints are also left behind when browsing the internet. If this information is linked to an email address or a social media account, for instance, providers can analyse what users search for, what they like and what they prefer to spend their time doing. This semi-annual report by the Reporting and Analysis Centre for Information Assurance (MELANI examines the problems with "personal data on the internet" from various perspectives.
Encryption Trojans used in new ways
Encryption Trojans have caused great damage in recent years and in certain cases have even led to the companies affected going bankrupt. The ongoing awareness campaigns by authorities such as MELANI have had the effect that fewer and fewer ransom demands are being paid. This, in turn, has prompted attackers to change their methods. Today, for example, cybercriminals often make a copy of data before they encrypt it. The attackers then threaten to publish the copied data if the ransom is not paid.
Source: Press release of the Federal Council of 30 April 2020
