Ransomware continues to evolve into new variants

Ransomware, which morphed from scareware fraud around 1998, isn’t abating. Fraudsters are still holding electronic devices ransom with creative variants and extorting money and personally identifiable information. Here are some of the historical and current developments plus ways to help others avoid ransomware.

Duke Winston had just graduated from a university with a degree in marketing and was excited to start work with a major San Francisco advertising firm. One evening a message flashed on his computer screen that said his files were encrypted, and he had to click on a link to a website and pay $300 to gain access to the key to decrypt his files. If he didn’t pay the ransom in seven days, the message said, the amount would increase. Duke talked with a friend who worked for a computer company, who said the ransomware probably infected Duke’s computer when he clicked on a malicious link or file in an email or attachment. However, Duke lucked out because he’d previously backed up all his files. He could keep his $300.

Even though Duke’s story is fictitious, thousands of individuals and businesses still are ransomware fraud fodder for online criminals, and many of them aren’t as fortunate as Duke.