Ransomware Is The Fastest Growing Type Of Malicious Software

Ransomware, a type of malicious software, has emerged to be the most potent treat to Personal Computers (PCs) around the world.

Viruses and back–door Trojans that fall under the Ransomware category have proven to be the most damaging variant of malware. These types of viruses have managed to usurp over US$ 5 Million in the last quarter of 2013. The severity of the threat is evident from the fact that it took more than year for Ransomware developers earlier to garner such a quantum.

Ransomware is essentially the next phase of Virus Development. Earlier the viruses or Trojans were designed to steal information via keystrokes and various other recording techniques. But sifting through mountains of keystroke logs to find the username and password combination to a bank account is a tedious task. Besides, Banks and other companies are increasingly adopting the two–step verification that adds another layer of protection which is near impossible to break unless one even has the registered mobile number.

However, Ransomware employs sophisticated encryption algorithms to lock or encrypt the user’s files. Owner of data as well as the PC is unable to access the contents, but is subsequently approached via e–mail or message that says that the files can be unlocked permanently with a simple ‘key’. However, in order to receive the key, the owner must part with his or her money. Essentially, the hackers hold the data at ransom and offer to free it up only when paid. Normally the transaction is asked to be completed by visiting a bank and depositing a pre–specified amount within a Bank Account of the hacker’s choice.

Johannes B. Ullrich, Chief Research Officer at the SANS Institute is of the opinion, that depending on the sensitivity and urgency of the data, the ransom can go as high as a buck to a byte (a Dollar for every Byte). Needless to say, this figure can easily escalate into thousands of dollars.

Ransomware is said to have originated from ‘Scareware’ that attempted to scare people in to believing that their PC was infected and asked to download and run a free virus–scan, when in reality, the scanning program itself was a neatly disguised virus.

To protect oneself from Ransomware or Scareware, the standard list of precautions applies. But with people exhibiting lethargy in proactively securing their workstations or devices, will such occurrences only rise?

Source | ZeeNews

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