2016 Big Year for Ransomware – 70% Pays in This $1 Billion Industry
Up to this point, there have been two main reasons people decide to use bitcoin— either for censorship-resistant payments or as a store of value. However, in 2016, a new application for the use of Bitcoin as a censorship-resistant payment system, ransomware, experienced immense growth. According to some industry watchers the core issue with ransomware....
Related News
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....
Distribution of this malware is showing signs of innovation as well. Criminals have been switching between exploit kits, spam campaigns, and social engineering attacks to secure their payday. The topic of ransomware never seems to be far away these days. Online threats are a significant concern for both individual users and enterprises around the world. With the first half of 2016 behind us, it is evident ransomware will not go away anytime soon. Enterprises lost US$209m due to these attacks in the first six months of 2016. Ransomware Leads To Mounting Financial Losses. The new report,....
Nearly 1.2 million money-stealing malware incidents were discovered in Q3 of 2016. Additionally, over 821,000 unique device crypto ransomware attacks were successfully blocked. Every time a report related to ransomware is published, there is a growing reason for concern. Although the public knows about this threat, the number of attacks continues to increase. In fact, a new Kaspersky Labs report indicates things are starting to get out hand rather quickly. In Q3 of 2016, there have been 3.5 times as many ransomware modifications as before. Criminals seem to be enjoying themselves when it....
For those readers unfamiliar with the concept of Bitcoin ransomware, we should take the time to briefly explain what this phenomenon is all about. Bitcoin ransomware has been a topic of substantial discussion in the media throughout 2015, and the year 2016 does not seem to be changing that anytime soon. There have been numerous reports of this type of attack against companies and individual users, even though there are a few easy steps to avoid ransomware from infecting one’s device. Bitcoin is not to blame for these attacks by any means, only the people who create this software. Although....
One thing seems certain: it will become harder to detect this malicious software in the future. One of the most popular trends in 2016 has been the surge in ransomware deployment. Over the coming 12 months, this situation will only get worse. Enterprises and users are advised to take the necessary precautions to nip these attacks in the bud. In the first week of the new year, new types of ransomware have made their presence known already. KillDisk is a type of malware that has been around for some time already. A new version of this ransomware strain has security researchers concerned,....