Tencent Yujian Threat Intelligence Center published a report on Tuesday, July 16, stating that it has managed to identify and study a part of the “Ryuk” Ransomware. “Ryuk” Ransomware is a type of malware that targets government and corporate systemsthat contain important official information.
The Center's researchers detected and studied the virus at the time of the attack. They also received two emailsthat, in addition to the virus, contained a "ReadMe" note. The researchers responded to one of these messages and immediately received a response. In the email, the hackers demanded 11 BTC, or about $100,000.
The “Ryuk” Ransomware had successfully attacked several government organizations in the US. Indiana was forced to pay $130,000 to get rid of the virus. The government of Lake City, Florida, paid over $600,000.
Researchers believe the malware comes from the Russian hacking group GRIM SPIDER.
Ryuk ransomware takes its name from Death Note, a popular Japanese manga and anime series, where there is a god of death, named “Ryuk”. In the story, there is a strange notebook. If a person’s name is found on the pages of this notebook, then that person will die (Ryuk will kill them).
Malware is still being used to steal cryptocurrency
The cryptocurrency has faced many problems since its inception. One of the biggest problems is the attacks of hackers with malicious software. Last year, more than $ 1 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen. Hackers used various methods to carry out their attacks. In a large percentage, they used malicious software.
One of the latest tactics used by hackers is the use of a botnet, which infiltrates Android devices and secretly turns them into cryptocurrency mining devices.
Another similar malware attempted to target Linux servers with the aim of also stealing cryptocurrency. The practice of hacking devices and using them as cryptocurrency miners without their owners' consent is known as “cryptojacking.”
