ABSTRACT
Ransomware is one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity threats and is classified into two types. It can either prevent access by locking your device or it can prevent access by encrypting your files. The recent ransomware attack on the US colonial pipeline shows how disruptive and impactful ransomware attacks can be. Many states in the southeast experienced gas shortages due to the colonial pipeline shutdown spanning from Florida to Pennsylvania. Our growing reliance on information and technology, in addition to the growing number of ransomware families, is becoming a big problem that we can no longer ignore. To fight this growing threat, detection and prevention tools must keep up with the growing number of ways that ransomware can attack and evade. This project will timeline recent ransomware attacks by describing the methodology of the malicious code and describe the impact it has on companies and the rest of society. The goal of this project is to create an effective solution that can detect ransomware and provide countermeasures to a ransomware attack.