Many consider 2017 the “worst year ever” for data breaches and cyber attacks, largely due to the rise in ransomware, and IT experts predict it’s only going to get worse. According to the Online Trust Alliance (OTA), a nonprofit that works to develop tools and best practices that enhance internet security, cyber attacks targeting manufacturers and others nearly doubled in volume from the previous year.

The worst of the worst? WannaCry, which struck in May 2017, infecting approximately 300,000 computer systems, encrypting files and demanding a Bitcoin payment to decrypt them.

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