Americans lives are at risk -By cyber officials

Members of Congress heard a dire warning on Wednesday from the top U.S. cybersecurity official, who said the “American way of life” faces serious risks because of the drumbeat of ransomware attacks and threats to the nation’s infrastructure.

“Ransomware has become a plague on nearly every aspect of our lives,” Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Jen Easterly told the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday. “This issue illustrates how our digital and physical infrastructure is increasingly interconnected.”

A ransomware attack affects a computer by infecting it with malicious software that locks the user out of the computer until a ransom is paid to unlock it. It has been observed that ransomware variants have been around for several years and are often designed to extort money from victims via an on-screen alert.