When the Bad Guys Go to Ransomware B-School

Aug 12, 2016 1:17:13 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

By Eric Howes, KnowBe4 Principal Lab Researcher. As we have documented numerous times in this space over the past few years, the bad guys have proven to be relentless innovators, ...

The Latest from Black Hat 2016: Ransomware By the Numbers

Aug 4, 2016 4:07:30 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

The annual Black Hat security conference always produces a wealth of interesting papers, presentations, talks, live demos, and security news. This year's Black Hat USA 2016 event, which ...

New Ransomware-as-a-Service Offering Goes Live

Jul 30, 2016 9:24:16 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The cybermafia behind the Petya/Mischa ransomware just launched their RaaS offering July 25th. It pays "distributors" a part of the ransom that gets extorted from victims and increases ...

Criminal Ransomware Now Cheaper Than Standard Antivirus

Jul 18, 2016 2:12:38 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

For just $39 you, too, can have your very own ransomware with a lifetime license. What does a year's subscription to one of the major antivirus cost? Last I checked, much more than $39. ...

Locky Ransomware Encrypts Files Even When Machine Is Offline

Jul 16, 2016 10:28:40 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Locky is currently one of the top 3 ransomware threats, following closely behind CryptoWall. It's not surprising that this strain has undergone several updates since the beginning of the ...

Lazy Ransomware Bad Guys Just Delete Your Files - Never Mind Decrypting

Jul 12, 2016 12:56:26 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

There is a new strain of "ransomware" that does not bother with the whole encryption thing at all. These bad guys seem to think it's just an unnecessary distraction and too much work. ...

July 2016 Ransomware Roundup: New Strains And New Nasty Features

Jul 5, 2016 11:18:11 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The ransomware market is rapidly maturing, we start seeing upgraded strains and rebranded versions sold cheaply in the Dark Web. And mainstream media have finally glommed on after years ...

Doh! New "Bart" Ransomware from Threat Actors Spreading Dridex and Locky

Jun 29, 2016 10:55:05 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Proofpoint researchers discovered a new strain of ransomware called "Bart" - no kidding. The Russian Cyber Mafia behind Dridex 220 and Locky are using the RockLoader malware to download ...

[ZERO DAY ALERT] Ransomware Targets MS Office 365 Users

Jun 28, 2016 12:23:11 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Apparently, MS Office 365 built-in security tools are not cutting it. A new strain of the Cerber Ransomware is now targeting MS Office 365 email users with a massive zero-day attack that ...

Russian Cyber Mafia Is Back From Vacation With Smarter Locky Ransomware Strain

Jun 25, 2016 9:16:00 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Threatpost reported that the notorious Necurs botnet is back in business, after mysteriously going dark for nearly a month. Researchers report the Necurs has returned to spewing massive ...

New KnowBe4 Survey: Ransomware Infections Double In Two Years

Jun 22, 2016 10:49:43 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

We have just released the first long-time study focusing on IT Pros experience with ransomware. In June 2016 we surveyed 1,138 companies in a variety of industries and compared your ...

Expect Micro Ransomware: Extortion One Document At A Time

Jun 19, 2016 11:09:13 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

I have been following the development of ransomware closely since September 2013 when the ransomware plague was unleashed on the internet in the form of CryptoLocker and its copycats. At ...

New RAA Ransomware Strain Created Entirely Using Javascript

Jun 18, 2016 10:55:36 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Larry Abrams, who runs Bleepingcomputer was first to report on a new strain of ransomware called RAA. The criminal coders took the somewhat unusual step of writing the whole thing in ...

Individual ransomware payments skyrocket to a whopping $20,000

Jun 8, 2016 9:59:22 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Heads-up! Individual ransomware payments are getting very expensive. Companies are stockpiling Bitcoin in case they are hit, and a new low-profile strain of ransomware is actually causing ...

Yikes: Ransomware scam targets lawyers with phony ethics complaints

Jun 7, 2016 4:44:32 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Mike Mosedale at the Minnesota Lawyer wrote: "Talk about your dirty tricks. A new internet scam is targeting lawyers by exploiting one of their great fears: getting slapped with a ...

UltraDeCrypter Ransomware DOES NOT Decrypt Your Files

Jun 4, 2016 11:23:08 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

KnowBe4 gets regular calls from system admins who found us on the internet that are between a rock and a hard place. Backups failed and they have no way to revert to normal files. Worse, ...

[ALERT] 93% of phishing attacks now have ransomware payloads

Jun 4, 2016 10:02:16 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Oh boy. Things have gotten from bad to worse in an awful hurry. I remember the first time I reported on ransomware in the CyberheistNews Issue Feb 11, 2014, where an attorney's office ...

[INFOGRAPHIC] Don't Be The Victim Of A Cyberheist

Jun 2, 2016 2:48:57 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

We have created a new infographic for your users, as part of your ongoing security awareness training program. It's a few good reminders how to stay safe online, and to keep their ...

Top Ransomware campaign managers make 13 times more than avg Russian wages

Jun 2, 2016 7:44:02 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

A short report by Flashpoint gives us some insight into a recent ransomware campaign, which so far has generated a serious amount of profit considering it takes little effort to operate.

Ransomware domains increased 3500% in Q1 2016

Jun 1, 2016 7:26:25 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

There has been a whopping 3500% increase in ransomware domains in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the last quarter of 2015. Those are the highlights of a new report by network ...

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