There’s been a dramatic rise in ransomware attacks, but it’s not just big companies getting hit.
A small suburban Chicago bakery owner tells WGN Investigates that business has plummeted since hackers shut down her Instagram account.
“My business ran on Instagram,” says Leila Manoochehry, owner of Leila Love Macrons.
Manoochehry opened the bakery in 2019 on an industrial corridor in northwest suburban Park Ridge. She acknowledges the location wasn’t ideal. But the business thrived, thanks to the following she built on social media. On Instagram, her more than 16,000 followers generated 85 percent of her income.
“We had this shop button on my Instagram,” she says. “So, we kind of took people to my website, so that’s how they placed their order, either for pick-up or shipping.”
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But all that changed last month after hackers gained hold of her account. They sent threatening emails but she didn’t engage.
By the next day, her account was gone – and so was the business it helped generate.
“It’s like we never existed,” she says.
It’s a feeling many small businesses owners have these days.
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While cyberattacks involving big companies dominate the headlines, experts say hackers are increasingly targeting mom-and-pop shops, often demanding pricey ransoms.
“I’m hearing ransomware...
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