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The largest cybercriminal network this decade, Avalanche, has now been dismantled

After eight years of its existence, Avalanche Botnet has now been dismantled in a 4-year-long international operation.

On 30 November, German prosecutors and police – working hand in hand with the Department of Justice and the FBI in the U.S., the EU’s law enforcement agency and other global partners – managed to disembody the international criminal network involved in phishing attacks, bank fraud, and ransomware for years around the world.
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“Ransomware demands drop” – More and more cyber-attackers are demanding less; in a bid to victimise more

Cyber-hacks are becoming more and more sophisticated, and nowadays some cyber-hackers are demanding less from their victims to pay up.

Sometimes, people may feel there is no other way than paying up the ransom to gain access to your computer again. But as with most “products” or “services” there is usually a marginal propensity to pay – which is basically the willingness of someone to pay a price.

Would you pay £100 for a bottle of 2 litre milk? Probably not. Would you pay a pound for it? I’m sure you would.

Well, the hackers are employing the same tactic to make sure it’s cheap enough for people to pay as opposed to calling the police…
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Ransomware breakthrough software: CryptoDrop!

Scientists in Florida have developed software to stop ransomware in its tracks, sources from the BBC have confirmed. According to reports, the software called “CryptoDrop” can detect malware and stop it in its tracks.

This is big news, especially for businesses who have reportedly lost millions in paying ransomware demands because it’s less costly just to pay up and move on as opposed to hours lost getting systems back online which cost organisations even more money.
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Hackers hit BBC, MSN, AOL, New York Times, and host of others with fake adverts

Just this week we were posting about the rise of ransomware, and today the news agencies are reporting of a malicious attack that has infected users with ransomware when hackers were able to take control of banner adverts that linked to malicious software.

The hackers managed to gain control of a domain that the former owners didn’t renew, meaning that legitimate ad agencies were inadvertently displaying adverts that linked to a separate page that then tried to put ransomware on to their computers.
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Ransomware on the Rise

Ransomware is on the rise, and security experts are warning businesses and individuals to take extra care in the wake of a surge in reported cases.

Essentially ransomware has the capacity to lock a user out of their own system and demand a financial ransom by encrypting data on an infected device. The decryption key is then only made available once a ransom has been paid.

It’s a clever way in which scammers are making money – and we’re not just talking a few pounds here and there. Worldwide, the total amount of money being paid in ransomware is in the millions.
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