VTSECURE: EARLY WARNING RANSOMWARE DETECTION AND REPORTING SYSTEM VIA VIRUSTOTAL FOR NON-EXPERT USERS

Abstract

Ransomware is a continuously growing cybersecurity risk to governments and organizations in critical sectors such as power grids, health care, and the banking/finance industry where data privacy and system availability are essential for daily operations. Unlike other commonly known cybersecurity threats, ransomware attacks will not only disrupt operations but also threaten data confidentiality and integrity. To combat ransomware and its harmful effects, early detection systems can be developed and used by organizations and everyday users to identify potential threats before they escalate, hence minimizing the likelihood of successful attacks. This thesis proposes an early warning detection tool that leverages and examines files and URLs for potential threats. This research aims to create a tool for non-expert users, alerting them to harmful websites using VirusTotal’s API. By notifying users before they access malicious websites or download infected files, this tool can help prevent attacks from being triggered in the first place.