Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/666889
that your company pay a ransom to have the files restored. "We expect ransomware to cross the Rubicon to not only target Macs – but to also charge 'Mac prices,' says Juan Andres Guerrero- Saade, senior security researcher, Kaspersky Lab. Also increasingly vulnerable will be outdated computer systems, according to "Hazards Ahead," a November 2015 report released by security software maker Trend Micro. Unfortunately, many of these old systems are still running Windows XP, an obsolete operating system that stopped getting security updates from Microsoft more than a year ago. More vulnerable, too, will be mobile devices, including those running the Android operating system, according to the Trend Micro Report. Plus, hackers are expected to spend more time plundering computerized devices used at home to connect to office networks. Such PCs, tablets and smartphones can serve as easy knock-offs to what hackers are really looking for: easy entry into the business networks they're linked to, according to the "McAfee Labs Threats Predictions Report," released in November by Intel Security. "Organizations should expect to be hit," says Tom Kellermann, chief cyber-security officer, Trend Micro. "Preparing to overcome this challenge will become the mantra in the winter of 2016." Meanwhile, hackers are also expected to increasingly drill-down much deeper into computers in 2016, bypassing software and operating systems like Windows, and penetrating deeper into the machine's BIOS or firmware. Until recently, those systems were considered completely inviolable, according to the Intel report. Case-in-Point: Equation Group Malware, which is capable of reprogramming a computer's hard disk – even after the infected computer has its operating system erased and its hard drive completely reformatted. Such feats, according to the Intel report, were 'stunning' to uncover. Moreover, would-be hackers without the technical wherewithal to break into your computer now have an easy alternative. There's already a thriving market for off-the-shelf hacker software, specifically designed to be used by nontechnical criminals. The market for such software – which can make virtually anyone a hacker – is only expected to grow in 2016, according to "Kaspersky More than 20+ tech- nologies developed at U.S. federal labs to thwart hackers are now in the pipeline for commer- cialization – all part of a program squired by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While top retailers have often grabbed the biggest headlines when it comes to mass-scale hack attacks, security exper ts say manufacturers, too, are a prime target of cyber-thieves. iStockphoto.com/CreativaImages palletcentral.com PalletCentral • March-April 2016 29