Abstract—Ransomware is still widely prevalent and poses a serious danger to vital services and corporate infrastructure around the world. Through the usage of this malicious software, cybercriminals encrypt all of their victims’ important data. Cybercriminals threaten their victims with blackmail to coerce them into paying a “ransom” to avoid losing, disclosing, or being locked out of their essential resources. According to experts, ransomware assaults target a firm every 11 seconds, causing $20 billion in harm globally. Given the financial power of ransomware, cybercriminals are encouraged to create new varieties that are more nefarious and charge bigger ransom costs to their victims. In several nations, including the Philippines, where ransomware attacks have impacted at least 7,000 Philippine enterprises, this expanding problem of ransomware attacks can be seen. The Philippines’ use of technology is extremely susceptible to cyber events as it adapts to home-based situations in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Ransomware attacks have affected PH businesses; this percentage will rise to 40% by 2020. In order to address the Philippines’ vulnerability to ransomware attacks, this study investigates ransomware and its many forms of attacks there, identifies potential countermeasures to prevent, lessen, and end these kinds of attacks, and suggests various approaches to deal with the country’s current ransomware attack problems. In the Philippines, ransomware assaults are typically thwarted using ransomware prevention techniques. Companies and organizations should invest in ransomware detection methods in order to assist stop more loss and harm, but they shouldn’t limit their defensive strategies to prevention alone.
 
Keywords—ransomware, ransom, cybercriminals, malicious software


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