Tens of Millions in the UK May Be Targeted by CryptoLocker Bitcoin Ransomware
The UK's crime agency released an alert today after a flood of spam swept the country promoting bitcoin ransomware scourge CryptoLocker. The National Cyber Crime Unit predicted that emails would hit tens of millions of UK customers, and that they were targeting small to medium-sized businesses in particular. "This spamming event is assessed as a significant risk," it said. Discovered last month, CryptoLocker is distributed by email. It includes a ZIP file attachment that infects a victim's computer, encrypting their files, and them demanding a ransom of 2 bitcoins. That will see people....
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Over the course of 2015, many individuals and companies have been affected by ransomware. While this may have nothing to do with Bitcoin at first glance, there have been a few cases where the ransomware could only be removed by paying a certain fee in Bitcoin. But those days may be over now, as a decryption toolkit for various types of ransomware has been made publicly available, free of charge. CryptoLocker and CoinVault Ransomware. Two types of ransomware making headlines all across the world in recent months are called CryptoLocker and CoinVault. Both types of ransomware operate, in the....
Ransomware is becoming increasingly popular with hackers and cyber criminals. The ability to lock down an entire system and render it useless until a ransom has been met is quite powerful. Ransomware often requires payment in a method that is irreversible, allowing the criminals to keep any payments they received unless they are caught of course. The FBI has warned that companies might not be able to get their data back unless they pay the ransom or have backups in which they can restore the system to. Cryptolocker was incredibly prevalent for a year but was replaced by Cryptowall, a very....
The FBI has changed its stance on ransomware extortionists saying people targeted should refuse to pay the bitcoin ransom despite a previous statement from the FBI encouraging victims to pay a ransom. At a recent Federal Trade Commission’s Fall Technology Series, supervisory special agent for the FBI’s Cyber Division, Will Bales, said that businesses or individuals targeted by ransomware should refuse to pay the ransom, as reported in Dark Reading. He said: People have to remember that ransomware does not affect just one person or one business. It will more than likely move on and affect....
Chainalysis has stated that ransomware arrests will soon take place targeting cyber criminals behind ransomware attacks. Rise of Ransomware Attacks. Over the past six months, ransomware attacks have become an issue to government, business and healthcare organizations. In January, CCN reported that three banks and a pharmaceutical company in India had been targeted by a ransomware scheme with the ransom demand in bitcoins. Three Greek banks were reported hacked last November with the hackers demanding their ransom be paid in bitcoins. While the individuals in question were unable to gain....
The ransomware industry has exploded recently. Often, hackers demand bitcoin payments in order to restore computer systems. Bitcoin.com investigates what to do to prevent ransomware attacks. 2016 ‘The Year of Ransomware’. A report by McAfee Labs published in December revealed that the number of new ransomware samples totaled 3,860,603 in the third....