ransomware
/ˈɹænsəmˌwɛə(ɹ)/
ransomware noun: malware that holds the data of a computer user for ransom, usually requiring or claiming to require payment to restore access.
Noun
ransomware (usually uncountable, plural ransomware or (nonstandard) ransomwares)
- Malware that holds the data of a computer user for ransom, usually requiring or claiming to require payment to restore access.
- The amount of money generated by ransomware schemes would appear to be quite small given their lack of popularity and the asking price in ransom notes […]2008, Markus Jakobsson, Zulfikar Ramzan, Crimeware: Understanding New Attacks and Defenses, page 375
- Garmin has been forced to shut down its call centres, website and some other online services after a ransomware attack encrypted the smartwatch maker’s internal network and some production systems.2020 July 24, Mark Sweney, “Smartwatch maker Garmin hit by outages after ransomware attack”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2022
- Software that is released as open source only in exchange for payment.
- [I]n some situations, the source code of COTS may be escrowed and released under a free software or open source license when the original developer (or supplier) no longer continues to develop that software or if stipulated fundraising conditions are met. This model is referred to as the ransom...2013, Mano Paul, Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CSSLP CBK, Second Edition, page 622
ransomware meaning in Tamil, Malay, Indonesian and Vietnamese
ransomware in Tamil
- முடக்கச் செயலி
ransomware in Malay
- malware
- perisian tebusan
ransomware in Indonesian
- malware
- perangkat pemeras
ransomware in Vietnamese
- malware
- phần mềm tống tiền
Examples of ransomware in a sentence
- Last March, Trenitalia, the Italian state-owned railway, suffered a major ransomware attack on its ticketing system, which disrupted sales at stations as well as passenger information screens.2023 March 22, Christian Wolmar, “Cybersecurity concerns highlight a range of potential risks”, in RAIL, number 979, page 33:
- Cybersecurity firm Semperis found that 86% of surveyed organizations in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany that faced ransomware attacks were targeted on a holiday or weekend.2024 November 25, Sean Lyngaas, “Starbucks forced to pay its baristas manually because of a ransomware attack on third-party software”, in...
- This model is referred to as the ransom model of software publishing and the software is known as ransomware.2013, Mano Paul, Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CSSLP CBK, Second Edition, page 622:
Forms of ransomware
| plural | ransomware |
|---|---|
| plural (nonstandard) | ransomwares |
Origin of ransomware
From ransom + -ware.
Questions about ransomware
- What does ransomware mean?
- Ransomware means malware that holds the data of a computer user for ransom, usually requiring or claiming to require payment to restore access.
- What is ransomware in Tamil?
- Ransomware in Tamil is முடக்கச் செயலி. See Ransomware meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use ransomware in a sentence?
- Last March, Trenitalia, the Italian state-owned railway, suffered a major ransomware attack on its ticketing system, which disrupted sales at stations as well as passenger information screens.
- What part of speech is ransomware?
- Ransomware is a noun.
- How do you pronounce ransomware?
- Ransomware is pronounced /ˈɹænsəmˌwɛə(ɹ)/.
- What is the plural of ransomware?
- The plural of ransomware is ransomware.
Words near ransomware in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ransomware (page history and authors); ransomware (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-ransomware.wav.
Cite this entry: “ransomware.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ransomware. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.