Inspiration

Our inspiration drew from the constantly evolving threat landscape in the world of cybersecurity. By looking at current events, we noticed that the use of ransomware becoming a common theme among recent cyber attacks. We decided to create our informational website and model ransomware virus to help better educate others about the myriad of cyber threats out there and the sheer complexity that goes into these threats that we see today.

What it does

**Website: **Our website provides key information about the many different cyber threats that one may encounter today. We even describe how cunning hackers can be when trying to infect your computer. Even though we let our audience know ahead of time, we have a fake "human" test button similar to captcha that downloads our model ransomware. We did this to bring attention to a recent trend among hackers who do almost exactly this to try to make you unintentionally download their malware.

How we built it

Aditya: Created the code behind the website and is the reason why it is so visually appealing. He used his HTML and CSS skill to the max and even used his JavaScript skills to make our virus downloader.

Spencer: He was the one responsible for the copious amounts of information presented to us on the website. If it wasn't for his research, our website wouldn't be nearly as plump with info as it is now.

TJ: He created the working model Ransomware virus. His program dives deep into the essential concepts of cryptography and uses complex asymmetric and symmetric key encryption to demonstrate the true effectiveness of encryption.

Challenges we ran into

Aditya's biggest challenge was creating the virus downloader. In order to mimic the cunning and precision of today's malicious hackers, he had to learn how to use his javascript knowledge in an effective way to try to represent what various malicious parties may be attempting right now. Spencer's hardest challenge was the ability to effectively depict his information in a way that wasn't too long but was still engaging and informative. Finding the perfect balance was not an easy feat. TJ had to do his research about the various python modules made for encryption and their vast capabilities. His hardest problem was being able to properly apply his newfound concepts into his python code. He had to use unfamiliar modules and create a functioning program that resembled the current cyber threats of today.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The fact that we were able to accomplish so much in just a little over a day is very fulfilling. We each had our own unique skill sets in different fields and were able to collaborate effectively in order to create something magnificent.

What we learned

We each learned different things about the subjects we worked on. Aditya was able to learn more about the complexity and power of JavaScript and effective it can truly be. Spencer learned an innumerable amount of information about different viruses and the current threat landscape in the world of cybersecurity. TJ learned about the many diverse concepts of cryptography and how its immense power could be used for both good and evil.

What's next for Ransomware Encryption and Information Virus Website

We each plan on learning more about the many different concepts we learned about during this hackathon. Aditya plans on learning more about JavaScript and find out the true potential of such a powerful language. Spencer plans on learning more about the world of cybersecurity and the many different threats and defenses that come with the territory. He hopes to be more informed about the subject and educate others about what's really behind their screen. TJ wants to delve deeper into the vast realm of cryptography and use it better fuel his interests in Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking. He even hopes to continue his project in creating ransomware in order to better learn about the systems he wants to protect.