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Ransomware
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BitLocker
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Hostageware
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HostileEncryptor
EXPLANATION
Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom
is paid. While some simple ransomware may lock the system in a way
which is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, more
advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion, in which it encrypts the victim's files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.[1][2][3][4] In a properly implemented cryptoviral extortion attack, recovering the files without the decryption key is an intractable problem – and difficult to trace digital currencies such as Ukash and cryptocurrency are used for the ransoms, making tracing and prosecuting the perpetrators difficult.
Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a
Trojan
that is disguised as a legitimate file that the user is tricked into
downloading or opening when it arrives as an email attachment. However,
one high-profile example, the "
WannaCry worm", traveled automatically between computers without user interaction.
[citation needed]
Starting from around 2012 the use of ransomware scams has grown internationally.
[5][6][7]
There were 181.5 million ransomware attacks in the first six months of
2018. This marks a 229% increase over this same time frame in 2017.
[8] In June 2014, vendor
McAfee
released data showing that it had collected more than double the number
of samples of ransomware that quarter than it had in the same quarter
of the previous year.
[9] CryptoLocker was particularly successful, procuring an estimated US $3 million before it was taken down by authorities,
[10] and CryptoWall was estimated by the US
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to have accrued over US $18m by June 2015.
[11]
