Hostage by ransomware
Ransomware is a huge and growing problem for businesses and organizations of all sizes. It’s a problem that shows no signs of going away. Ransomware is easy to produce, difficult to defend against, and it’s a lucrative business of huge earnings with criminal activity: A significant percentage of businesses that get hit by ransomware pay the demanded ransom money to get their data back.
It has emerged as a trending new cybercrime business source income model. The number of ransomware attacks is increasing year by year.
History of Ransomware
1989-The first ever ransomware virus was created in 1989 by Harvard-trained evolutionary biologist Joseph L. Popp. It was called the AIDS Trojan, also known as the PC Cyborg. The AIDS Trojan was “generation one” ransomware malware and relatively easy to overcome. This is one of many attacks, both overt and covert, in the field of Cryptovirology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptovirology)(Cryptovirology is a field that studies how to use cryptography to design powerful malicious software). Cryptography is associated with the process of converting ordinary plain text into unintelligible text and vice-versa.
2006– the Archiveus Trojan was released which was much more invasive and difficult to remove than its predecessor.
2011-The first time ransomware moves into the big time due to the use of anonymous payment services, which made it much easier for authors to collect money from their victims
2012-Reveton worm, Urausy Police Ransomware Trojans are some of the most recent entries in these attacks
2013-Svpeng: This mobile Trojan targets Android devices.CryptoLocker is the first cryptographic malware spread by downloads from a compromised website and/or sent to business professionals in the form of email attachments.
2014-CryptoDefense and CryptoWall ransomware malware is introduced
2015-CrytoWall and CrytoLocker takes off
2016-Scary New CryptXXX Ransomware which Steals Your Bitcoins also
2017-Spora ransomware gives its victims options to just pay for file decryption, or they can pay more for immunity against future attacks. Other ransomware introduced during this year is DynA-Crypt ransomware, Samas ransomware, Cerber.WanaCry, infamous ransomware. infected over 300,000 computers in over 150 countries.
2018-GandCrab showed up mid-month of March 2018
Most Infamous Ransomware
1.WannaCry-In 2017, WannaCry ransomware attacks spread like wildfire across the globe, shutting down hospitals, radio stations, and other corporates, and that was when ransomware became an existential threat. It exploited security holes and was Locker type ransomware.WannaCry affected more than 300,000 organizations worldwide. Each victim received a note demanding $300 in Bitcoin as ransom.
2.Bad Rabbit-This is locker type ransomware and downloads disguised as an Adobe Flash installer. If a person clicks on the malicious installer, their computer locks. The ransom note demands around $280 in Bitcoin and gives a 40-hour deadline for payments to be made.
3.GandCrab– The most popular multi-million dollar ransomware of 2018, GandCrab is one of the few widely deployed ransomware campaigns. It spreads through consumer phishing emails. Ransom demands can range from $500 to $600.
4.Jigsaw-The Jigsaw ransomware attack was named after a horror movie character. It not only encrypts user’s files but starts deleting them. The victims get only 24 Hr to pay the ransom of 150 USD.
5.Katyusha-This is Leakware type of ransomware. Katyusha threatens to release the data to public download if the ransom of 0.5 BTC is not paid within three
days.
6.Ryuk-.Ryuk is specifically used in targeted attacks with ransoms ranging from 15 to 50 bitcoins. Spread across 52 payments it has earned $3.7 million in bitcoin.
7.LockerGoga-LockerGoga is the newest, targeted, and more destructive type of ransomware of 2019. It has both ransomware and wiper capabilities.
Funny/Good Ransomware
1.PewCrypt-This ransomware was not created for financial gain purposes. It was insisting to join youtube channel of PewCrypt so that he may reach 100m mark of subscription before the Indian Bollywood channel, T-Series.PewCrypt is distributed by spam email message.
2.Nudes Ransomware-nRansom, a hilarious piece of ransomware featuring images of Thomas the Tank Engine and the Curb Your Enthusiasm soundtrack. nRansom locks your computer and proclaims it will only unlock the device if you send 10 nude pictures of yourself to a certain email address, after which the criminals will sell your nudes on the deep web.
3.RensenWare-After encrypting your computer, the ransomware threatens that your files will be lost forever unless you manage to score more than 200 million points in the LUNATIC level of shooting game TH12 – Undefined Fantastic Object.RensenWare turned out to be a joke and was never intended for distribution.
4.Koolova-This is educational ransomware. After encrypting your files, it instructs you to read two online articles: one from the Google Security Blog; the other from BleepingComputer.
5. Trump Locker ransomware-After successfully encrypting your files, the ransomware briefly displays an image of Donald Trump’s face, along with the message “YOU ARE HACKED!” before presenting the ransom window with payment information.
6. Merry Christmas-it encrypts your files and displays a festive ransom note that includes payment details, a countdown showing time remaining until your files are deleted and cheery MERRY CHRISTMAS text.