Why in News?

• Senior police officers of the Interpol’s member countries have endorsed measures to boost the role of its National Central Bureaus (NCBs), in view of the evolving ransomware threats.

What is ransomware?

• Ransomware is malware that employs encryption to hold a victim’s information at ransom. A user or organization’s critical data is encrypted so that they cannot access files, databases, or applications. 
• A ransom is then demanded to provide access. Ransomware is often designed to spread across a network and target database and file servers, and can thus quickly paralyze an entire organization.
• Ex: WannaCry, NotPetya, Kaseya
  • Malware- is a term used to describe malicious software, including spyware, ransomware, viruses, and worms. Malware breaches a network through a vulnerability, typically when a user clicks a dangerous link or email attachment that then installs risky software

• To read about cyberattacks: https://officerspulse.com/cyberattacks/

Interpol

• The International Criminal Police Organisation, or Interpol, is a 194-member intergovernmental organisation.

Headquarters in Lyon, France.

• Formed in 1923 as the International Criminal Police Commission, and started calling itself Interpol in 1956.
• India joined the organisation in 1949, and is one of its oldest members.

• In each country, an INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) provides the central point of contact for the General Secretariat and other NCBs. 
• An NCB is run by national police officials and usually sits in the government ministry responsible for policing.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/interpol-seeks-joint-fight-against-ransomware/article35260220.ece