CASE STUDY: Freelance Writer in a Ransomware attack

Meet Sarah, a freelance writer who writes blog posts and articles for various clients. Sarah worked from home, using her personal computer to store her work and communicate with clients.

One day, Sarah received an email from what she thought was a well-known software company. The email contained a special offer on the software and she clicked on it without hesitation.

After downloading the software, Sarah noticed that her computer was running slow and crashing frequently. She tried to access her work but found that all of her files were encrypted, and she was unable to open them.

Sarah soon realized that she had fallen victim to a ransomware attack. The software she had downloaded was actually malware that encrypted all of her files, and the hackers demanded a ransom payment in exchange for the decryption key.

Despite attempting to negotiate with the hackers, Sarah was unable to get her files back and was left with no choice but to start from scratch. She had not backed up her work and had lost months of writing that she could not recover.

The cyber attack had a devastating impact on Sarah’s freelance writing business. She lost many clients due to her inability to deliver work and her reputation was tarnished. Sarah learned the hard way that it is crucial to take digital security seriously and to regularly backup important data and files.

By following best practices for digital security, such as using strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and regularly backing up important data, freelancers like Sarah can protect their work and avoid costly losses in the event of a cyber attack.