Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard a lot about malware. But what exactly is it? For example, major gasoline supplier Colonial Pipeline was shut down after it suffered a ransomware attack. Colonial reportedly paid $5 million in Bitcoin to a Russian hacker group called DarkSide.

Why has there been so much malware lately? Hacking, phishing, ransomware, viruses: they’re all different forms of malware, and they’re all increasing. Businesses, governments, hospitals, and schools are being attacked with more victims each week.

How do hackers turn our own data against us? What can we do about it?

To fight malware, you must understand what it is, and what exactly is at risk.