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FBI: "Just pay the ransom."

posted by martyb on Thursday October 29 2015, @10:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the backups-just-do-it dept.

Runaway1956 writes:

There is a particularly devious type of malicious software that locks users out of their own computer systems until an individual agrees to pay a ransom to the hackers. In these cases, the FBI has surprisingly suggested just ponying up the dough.

It's not the type of advice one would typically expected from the FBI, but that's exactly what was recommended by Joseph Bonavolonta, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's CYBER and Counterintelligence Program Boston office.

"The ransomware is that good," said Bonavolonta at the 2015 Cyber Security Summit in Boston, as quoted by Security Ledger. "To be honest, we often advise people just to pay the ransom."

https://www.rt.com/usa/319913-fbi-pay-ransomware-hackers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Yeah, it's RT, but I did a search, and that or similar headlines popped up on dozens of news sites. I clicked a couple of them, and the stories match. Try this one,
https://thehackernews.com/2015/10/fbi-ransomware-malware.html

Personally, I can almost certainly afford to nuke and reinstall, unless they get my RAID array. Then - I'd have to think hard.

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  • (Score: 2) by VanderDecken on Thursday October 29 2015, @05:58PM

    by VanderDecken (5216) on Thursday October 29 2015, @05:58PM (#256136)
    While I have only heard of ransomware entering the environment through Windows machines, it is possible to impact any system, with the rule that if the user can write to files, then those files could be held for ransom. As usual, the major factor becomes one of how the ransomware gets a foothold in the system to begin with. Sure, it might be exploiting yet another IE bug, but consider the following:
    • any Mac or Linux user deciding to download and run a new program
    • running that new "free" phone app or game, when your phone has access to (for example) your DropBox data
    • an arbitrary web page (or ad on a web page) serving up malicious javascript to <insert_your_least_favourite_browser_here>
    --
    The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
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