The well-known electronic transaction company PayPal was awarded for a technique that could detect a type of crypto malware and mitigate its effects.
The patent, which describes how existing data systems can be used to detect ransomware and prevent its impact on consumer files, was first filed in September 2016 and awarded Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The way a ransomware works is to encrypt the contents of a hard drive or other files and no longer allow access to them until users pay the ransom demanded by its creators.
Something like this is disastrous in most cases. Thus PayPal tries to prevent such a situation, with a method that involves detecting a first copy of the original content that has been loaded into the cache of a computer system, keeping a second copy of this file in the cache and comparing the two to determine whether the modified content represents an encrypted version of the original content. Then it prevents the deletion of the original content if the modified content has been encrypted.
A way for users, such as consumers and small businesses, to avoid data loss is by maintaining backups. However, even if there is a backup system, data can still be lost, as files encrypted with ransomware may also automatically create backups – replacing the originals.
Therefore, detecting ransomware at an early stage could help reduce negative impacts, according to PayPal.
Last year, the company had filed another patent, which referred to enhancing the speed of cryptocurrency payments. The goal of this patent is to reduce the time required for payments between consumers and merchants.
