The Most Vulnerable Ransomware Targets Are the Institutions We Rely On Most(中英双语).docx

The Most Vulnerable Ransomware Targets Are the Institutions We Rely On Most面对勒索软件攻击，我们最依赖的公共机构不堪一击Many vital public institutions such as hospitals and fire stations lack cybersecurity to ward off popular malware包括医院、消防局在内的许多重要的公共机构缺乏网络安全，难以抵御流行的恶意软件攻击。Earlier this month a Los Angeles hospital became yet another victim of ransomware—a type of cyber attack where hackers encrypt data on individuals’ or institutions’ computers and demand a ransom to unlock the information. A few weeks later the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services reportedly suffered a similar fate. These are just two cases in a rising tide of ransomware hacks, and experts predict the problem is only going to get worse. Unfortunately, it turns out that some of easiest ransomware attack targets are the critical establishments that we rely on most.本月早些时候洛杉矶的一家医院成为迄今为止另一个勒索软件的受害者。勒索软件是一种网络攻击，黑客们对私人或公共机构的电脑数据进行加密，索要赎金后才将信息解密。据称，仅仅几周之后，洛杉矶卫生服务局也遭受到了类似的网络攻击。在众多勒索软件攻击案件中，这两起事件只是冰山一角，专家预测这一问题将持续恶化。而调查显示最容易受到勒索软件攻击的目标中就包括我们最依赖的一些重要公共机构。Many vital public institutions such as hospitals, police stations and fire stations typically do not have the most sophisticated cybersecurity, and they are perhaps the most vulnerable of all in ransomware attacks. This is not because public institutions are more exposed to these attacks than, say, restaurants or dentists—the problem is that there is more at stake for everyone when these institutions become victims.许多重要的公共机构，例如医院、警局和消防局通常都不具有尖端的网络安全防护，因此它们面临勒索软件的攻击显得不堪一击。相较于餐厅或牙科诊所来说，或许这些公共机构会面临更多的网络攻击，但真正的问题在于一旦这些公共机构成为网络攻击的受害者，所有人的信息安全都会受到很大的威胁。Ransomware has been around since the late 1980s, but in recent years it has become increasingly popular with cyber criminals, especially since the creation of bitcoin in 2009 gave hackers an easy way to get paid anonymously. In 2014 ransomware attacks rose 113 percent compared with the previous year, and 2015 estimates also show rapid growth, says Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response. Ransomware hackers trick vi