Ransomware

Ransomware key to unlock customer data from REvil attack

US IT firm Kaseya - which was the first to be targeted earlier this month - said it got the key from a “trusted third party”.

Ransomware is malicious software that steals computer data and scrambles it so the victim cannot gain access.

The hackers then ask for payment in return for releasing the files.

Kaseya’s decryptor key will allow customers to retrieve missing files, without paying the ransom.

The company’s spokeswoman Dana Liedholm declined to answer whether Kaseya had paid for access to the key.

New Ransomware encrypts your Android and changes the PIN lock

Security researchers from Slovakia-based security software maker ESET have discovered a new Android ransomware that not just encrypts users’ data, but also locks them out of their devices by changing lock screen PIN.

 

On top of that:

DoubleLocker is the first-ever ransomware to misuse Android accessibility—a feature that provides users alternative ways to interact with their smartphone devices, and mainly misused by Android banking Trojans to steal banking credentials.

WannaCry: What can you do to protect your business?

But how easily could it have been avoided and how can firms protect themselves against future attacks?

On the face of it, the accepted narrative seems simple. Microsoft issued a patch, or update, for the vulnerability in its older Windows operating systems in March.

If all IT departments everywhere had implemented this patch immediately, the WannaCry ransomware worm wouldn't have been able to run riot across the globe.

Disney hack: Ransom demanded for stolen film

Disney CEO Bob Iger told ABC employees about the demand at a town hall meeting on Monday, The Hollywood Reporter said.

He did not name the film, but Deadline reports that it is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

What is the difference: Viruses, Worms, Ransomware, Trojans, Bots, Malware, Spyware, etc?

But honestly speaking, we consider all these to be a Virus, no matter, whatever be their type. But have you ever tried to acknowledge, what is the difference between these terms, although they are meant to harm your device, steal your data or spy on you, have you ever thought why they are named so differently? Basically, terms like Viruses, Trojans are all types of malicious software or simply ‘Malware’.

Now, the first and foremost question arises, where did these terms come from?

iPhone users fooled by fake ransomware

A pop-up screen accused the phone owner of accessing illegal pornography or pirating music and could not be removed.

However the ransomware was fake - and clearing the browser cache was actually enough to restore full access.

It ran on JavaScript, a code commonly employed by many websites.

The attackers demanded £100 in the form of an iTunes gift card with the code sent via text message to a designated mobile number, said security firm Lookout in a blog about the malware.

Cheap ransomware takes files 'hostage'

If the ransom remains unpaid, it continues deleting random files every six hours.

The Stampado malware is for sale for less than $50 for a lifetime's licence.

Unlike other variants, it does not need administrator rights to start infecting computers.

Ransomware is malicious software that scrambles the data on a victim's PC and then asks for payment before restoring the data to its original state.

The costs of unlocking data vary, with individuals typically paying a few hundred pounds and businesses a few thousand.

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Ransomware 'stopped' by new software

Ransomware encrypts computer files and is used by hackers who then demand money in exchange for freeing the content.

It is becoming a huge problem globally.

The solution - dubbed CryptoDrop - detected the malware and stopped it after it had encrypted just a handful of files, said its developers.

Patrick Traynor, an associate professor in UF's department of computer and information science, worked with PhD student Nolen Scaife and Henry Carter, from Villanova University, on the software.