IT threat evolution Q3 2017. Statistics

Q3 figures According to KSN data, Kaspersky Lab solutions detected and repelled 277,646,376 malicious attacks from online resources located in 185 countries all over the world. 72,012,219 unique URLs were recognized as malicious by web antivirus components. Attempted infections by malware that ai...

US Government Site Was Hosting Ransomware

As recently as Wednesday afternoon, a U.S. government website was hosting a malicious JavaScript downloader that led victims to installations of Cerber ransomware. Researcher Ankit Anubhav of NewSky Security tweeted the discovery Wednesday, and within hours, the malware link was taken down. It’s...

Ransomware is Here to Stay: So How Do I Protect My Data?

Ransomware is the gift that keeps on giving for cybercriminals. Google research revealed recently that online extortionists have managed to grab more than $25 million from their victims over the past two years. Other estimates suggest businesses and netizens handed over as much as $1 billion in...

IT threat evolution Q2 2017. Statistics

Q2 figures According to KSN data, Kaspersky Lab solutions detected and repelled 342, 566, 061 malicious attacks from online resources located in 191 countries all over the world. 33, 006, 783 unique URLs were recognized as malicious by web antivirus components. Attempted infections by malware tha...

Forecasting the Future of Ransomware

There's no question that ransomware is one of the most formidable threats to a business. With so much riding on digitized data, important applications and other systems, any interruption to access of these crucial assets can quickly spell disaster for an organization. Despite efforts on the part ...

Remote Symbol Resolution

Introduction The following blog discusses a couple of common techniques that malware uses to obscure its access to the Windows API. In both forms examined, analysts must calculate the API start address and resolve the symbol from the runtime process in order to determine functionality. After...

Locky, Cerber Ransomware Skilled at Avoiding Detection

The latest versions of Cerber and Locky ransomware have been, since mid-January, finding great success in bypassing existing security detection systems through the use of a common infrastructure that allows the malicious code to bury itself inside NSIS installers, and use several layers of...

Half of Ransomware Victims Pay Criminals' Demands to Recover Data

A report on ransomware sheds new light on attacks in 2016, starting with the fact that 48 percent of businesses hit by ransomware said they paid the ransom. That’s in spite of pleas from cyber security experts and the FBI not to do so. Other insights include the average ransom payment was $2,500...

Master Decryption Key Released for TeslaCrypt Ransomware

The criminals behind the TeslaCrypt ransomware have closed up shop and publicly released the master decryption key that unlocks files encrypted by the malware. The news is significant given the investment and constant innovation devoted to TeslaCrypt, which has been one of the most active...

US, Canada Issue Ransomware Advisory

Ransomware clearly has people on many fronts worried, so much so that the United States and Canada took an unprecedented step last week to issue a joint advisory on the threat posed by crypto-ransomware. The U.S. Cyber Emergency Response Team together with the Canadian Cyber Incident Response...

Disabled PadCrypt Ransomware Includes Live Chat, Uninstaller

Several flavors of ransomware, most notably Cryptowall, have come packaged with support features. But a new piece of crypto-ransomware called PadCrypt has upped the game with a live chat feature that victims can use to interact with the attackers about ransom payments and other information...

Chimera Ransomware Operation Shut Down

It seems that as quickly as the Chimera ransomware surfaced, the operation has been shut down. Researchers at Bleeping Computer said Tuesday that the malware was no longer active. A number of security companies were publishing alerts about this latest strain of crypto-ransomware, which was...

IC3 Issues Alert on CryptoWall Ransomware

The Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3 has issued an alert warning that U.S. individuals and businesses are still at risk of CryptoWall ransomware fraud. Scam operators use ransomware—a type of malicious software—to infect a device and restrict access until a ransom fee is paid­­. Individuals an...

New Spam Campaign Pushing CTB-Locker Ransomware

A new run of spam messages this week has been spotted dropping CTB-Locker ransomware. CTB-Locker, also known as Critroni, is a fairly new piece of crypto ransomware that encrypts hard drives and demands a ransom paid in Bitcoin to the attackers in exchange for the decryption key. Two days ago,...

New Utility Decrypts Files Lost to TeslaCrypt Ransomware

Crypto-ransomware variants have enterprises on edge because of the threat of irreversibly damaged files. Some organizations, including most recently the Tewksbury, Ma., police department have gone as far as to pay hundreds of dollars in ransom for the recovery key. Some technology companies are...

CryptoLocker Variant Coming After Gamers

Gamers may soon be feeling the pain of crypto-ransomware. A variant of CryptoLocker is in the wild that goes after data files associated with 20 different online games, locking downloadable content in an attempt to target younger computer users. Researchers at Bromium today said an unnamed...

FBI Releases "Ransomware on the Rise"

The FBI has released an article addressing ransomware campaigns that use intimidating messages claiming to be from the FBI or other government agencies. Scam operators use ransomware – a type of malicious software – to infect a computer and restrict access to it until a ransom is paid to unlock i...

Key Flaw Enables Recovery of Files Encrypted by TorrentLocker

Crypto ransomware, a relatively unknown phenomenon a couple of years ago, has exploded into one of the nastier malware problems for Internet users. Variants such as CryptoLocker and CryptoWall have been siphoning money from victims for some time, and now researchers have dissected a newer variant...