Encryption ransomware hits record levels
The amount of phishing emails containing a form of ransomware grew to 97.25 percent during the third quarter of 2016 up from 92 percent in Q1. PhishMe’s Q3 2016 Malware Review identified three major trends previously recorded throughout 2016, but have come to full fruition in the last few months:
7 Scary Ransomware Families
As the season of evil witches, ghosts, goblins, and ghouls approaches, it’s time to be on guard. But security managers face scary prospects year-round, especially as new strains of ransomware escalate. And ransomware variants are getting more pervasive – and creepier – than ever. The FBI says that from Jan. 1, 2016 to June 30,…
MBRFilter: Cisco open sources tool to protect the Master Boot Record
Cisco’s Talos research team has open sourced MBRFilter, a tool that aims to prevent a system’s Master Boot Record (MBR) getting overwritten by malware. The latest malware families that use this tactic are HDDCryptor (aka Mamba) and Petya, two pieces of ransomware that not only encrypt victims’ files, but also effectively lock them out of…
Android.Lockscreen ransomware now using pseudorandom numbers
New variants of Android.Lockscreen are using pseudorandom passcodes to prevent victims from unlocking devices without paying the ransom. Previous versions of these threats locked the screen and used a hardcoded passcode, but analysts were able to reverse engineer the code to provide victims with the passcode to unlock their devices. Attackers have also combined a…
RANSOMWARE, RECONNAISSANCE AND THE PROBLEM OF DWELL TIME
Ransomware has certainly captured the attention of the media and hospitals across the country. The poster child of this trend is Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center (HPMC) in Los Angeles. Earlier this year, HPMC was the victim of a Ransomware attack and paid $17,000 to get the key and access their files again. More recently, the…