Ransomware: No one escapes the merciless ransomware! A sex shop in Queensland was "violently" introduced with the concept of spam emails and ransomware, after it faced a serious outage due to the damage caused by the malware.
The ransomware, which is still one of the top hated malware worldwide, has slowly and steadily evolved over the years, from a simple popup that covered the user's screen that could be easily overlooked from the Windows Task Manager, to a heinous and malicious piece of software that encrypts files and permanently blocks the screen.
This is exactly what happened at Sweethearts (sex shop) in Queensland, Australia, which, after opening a seemingly normal e-mail, managed to infect the store's server with malware, which encrypted data and demanded a ransom of $755 / €675.
The store's owner, Colin Edwards, told News.com.au that he tried to contact the police about the problem, but was only referred to ACORN (Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network), an automated online system from which he only received a standard response.
"They sent us an email back saying they were very busy and couldn't tell us when they would be able to deal with our case," complains Mr. Edwards.
Unfortunately for him, this meant that he eventually had to pay the required ransom amount, but now, like everyone who follows this “solution”, he is worried that the hackers will re-encrypt his files and demand more money in the future…
