Ransomware prevention technique using key backup

Summary In this paper, a key backup technique for the recovery of files encrypted by ransomware is proposed. Ransomware interferes with the victim's system through abnormal behavior such as locking of the victim's system or encryption of the system or files. Ransomware writers demand money from the victims as a condition for the recovery of the encrypted files and systems that have been seized; systems infected by ransomware cannot be repaired without a decryption key, making the employment of detection and recovery methods urgent. This paper proposes a prevention technique for backing up encryption keys in a secure repository which enables the recovery of ransomware‐infected systems and ransomware‐encrypted files. The proposed technique can be used to repair systems infected by ransomware, thereby ensuring safety against such malicious codes.