Hackers Adopt SaaS Model to Support Bitcoin Ransomware Schemes
The Year 2015 saw cyber criminals implement new strategies to extort money, many taking their ransoms in bitcoin. The one that got everybody’s attention as the year came to a close was Ransom32 – a JavaScript-based ransomware which freezes the files in a user’s computer until a ransom is paid in bitcoin. The revelation was first made on BleepingComputer.com by an infected user who complained that he could not access the data on his computer, including pictures, documents, and mp3. Bleeping Computer editor Lawrence Abrams told BBC.com that the infection “was designed for those that lacked....
Related News
Why is ransomware the new rage? Denis Sinegubko, the founder of Unmask Parasites and senior malware researcher at Sucuri, a network security firm, notes in a Sucuri blog that the answer to this question has to do with the way ransomware demands are paid. Unlike false anti-viruses that were mostly harmless and made people pay to remove non-existing threats, ransomware is a more serious challenge since it disables the computer unless a ransom is paid. Ransomware schemes were not available five to eight years ago. Ransomware could not accept PayPal or credit cards since those transactions are....
In a ransomware attack, it is assumed that the hackers prefer the ransom being paid in bitcoin due to the anonymous nature of its transactions. It might not be true as the hackers are probably interested in bitcoin for entirely different reasons. Bitcoin and Ransomware, these words appear more frequently in a single sentence these days than we wish for. Ransomware attacks have become a common occurrence these days. We had earlier reported the use of Advertising network by cyber criminals to propagate ransomware to the computers belonging to the readers of some of the leading news websites.....
A group of hackers has donated some of the bitcoin it extorted via ransomware attacks to charities, claiming that it wants to “make the world a better place.” However, the law says donations from ill-gotten gains must be rejected but charities have no way of returning donated bitcoin to the hackers. Hackers Donate Bitcoin to Charities A group of hackers known as “Darkside” has surprised the world by donating a portion of the proceeds from ransomware attacks to two charities, the BBC reported Monday, adding that the group is relatively new on the scene. Darkside....
Ransomware is now becoming standardized to create a lucrative business model, ransomware as a service for amateur hackers. Ransomware as a Service. Developers of the crypto-ransomware tool, Cerber, have set up a RaaS (Ransomware as a Service) platform for amateur threat actors that could end up bringing in some big money by distributing their tool to a network of affiliates. The business technique could end up netting nearly $2 million. Security vendor Check Point Software Technologies has gathered data on the ransomware tool and determined that in July alone Cerber-affiliates have....
Three banks and a pharmaceutical company in India have been revealed as targets of a ransomware scheme that saw a ransom demand in bitcoin. In what is now the first known instance of an online extortionist demanding ransom in bitcoins from Indian targets, the Economic Times has revealed that hackers disrupted operations by crippling computers at three banks and a pharma company. Ransomware schemes are notorious for their scale of operations. A recent report revealed that an estimated $325 million has been plundered by ransomware operators in 2015 alone. Cryptowall was reported to be the....