Holland is under siege by hackers. The spread of ransomware is turning into "a national crisis" and "the security of the country is in danger".
The alarm was raised by the directors of three major Dutch cybersecurity companies (Eye, Hunt & Hackett and Northwave) who, speaking to the national media, have called for urgent government intervention. Ransomware attacks, the three experts explain, are more and more numerous and requests for help are too many to be handled by Dutch companies alone.
Ransomware is a virus that spreads as a seemingly harmless file or simple email attachment but which once downloaded encrypts files on the system. And paying the ransom is not the same as having a guarantee that the hackers will unlock the files. To try and stem the crisis, the Dutch police launched the No More Ransom platform, which contains the decryption codes for many types of ransomware. Attack victims are encouraged to check the platform before considering paying the ransom.