Sleeper cyber weapons deployed ‘right now’ on critical networks across Australia, expert warns – 9News
Sleeper cyber weapons deployed ‘right now’ on critical networks across Australia, expert warns 9News
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Tag Archive for: ‘sleeper’
Ransomware creator apologizes for ‘sleeper’ attack, releases decryption keys
/in Computer SecurityLast week, a new strain of ransomware called Locker was activated after having been sitting silently on infected PCs. Security firm KnowBe4 called Locker a “sleeper” campaign that, when the malware’s creator “woke it up,” encrypted the infected devices’ files and charged roughly $ 24 in exchange for the decryption keys.
See also: ‘Sleeper’ ransomware laid dormant on infected PCs until this week
This week, an internet user claiming to be the creator of Locker publicly apologized for the campaign and appears to have released the decryption keys for all the devices that fell victim to it, KnowBe4 reported in an alert issued today. Locker’s creator released this message in a PasteBin post:
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New ‘sleeper’ ransomware laid dormant on infected PCs until this week, report says
/in Computer SecurityA new strain of ransomware that had laid dormant on infected devices suddenly “woke up” at midnight on Monday, May 25, security firm KnowBe4 said in an alert issued today.
Ransomware encrypts all the files on the devices it infects and demands a ransom payment in exchange for the decryption key to give the content back to the original owner.
See also: Ransomware: Pay it or fight it?
KnowBe4 CEO Stu Sjouwerman says this new strain of malware, dubbed Locker, is “very similar to CryptoLocker,” the first successful modern form of ransomware that was released in late 2013 and was thwarted last year. Locker is a “sleeper” strain of malware, meaning that victims may have unintentionally downloaded it earlier, but that their devices were not encrypted until the ransomware was activated earlier this week.
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