WannaCry to SamSam: 5 biggest ransomware attacks you need to know about

business-standard.com:

The computer servers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, have been down for seven days. Media reports stated that this might have been a hack, and data of around 3-4 crore users stood exposed. On Monday evening, PTI reported that the servers were hit by ransomware, and the hackers demanded Rs 200 crore in cryptocurrency from the hospital.

Later in the evening, Delhi Police refuted the claims and stated that there was no such demand.

Ransomware attacks have been taking place for a long time, but their frequency has increased in the last few years

Here is a list of 5 major ransomware attacks

WannaCry

In 2017, numerous companies across the globe were hit by a fast-spreading malware called WannaCry. Within two days, the malware became so prevalent that it impacted over 200,000 computers in over 150 countries. The total amount of damage could not be calculated precisely, but reports claimed it stood between "hundreds of millions to billions of dollars".

Some of the biggest victims of the attack were Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Petrobras, Sberbank, Honda and Renault. In India, the Andhra Pradesh Police, the state governments of Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal were among its victims.

The ransom was demanded in Bitcoins, but no big sum was ever reported by any company.

In December 2017, the US and the UK governments said North Korea was behind the attack.

Also, it was found that the malware was propagated through EternalBlue, an exploit developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA) for Windows systems. EternalBlue was stolen a month before the attack.

NotPetya

In 2017, a ransomware outbreak was reported in Ukraine, including in the National Bank of Ukraine,