According to the Sophos “Threatsaurus,” “Ransomware is software that denies you access to your files or computer until you pay a ransom.” Basically what happens is that through a phishing email, malicious code gets downloaded into your computer. Then your data is held hostage in a password protected file until you pay a criminal a certain amount of money to get the password to open the file folder. Intel Security just released its McAfee Labs Threats Report: May 2015, which advises that there's been a massive increase in ransomware as well as huge jump in malware targeting Adobe Flash multimedia software. In the first quarter of 2015, McAfee Labs registered a 165 percent increase in new ransomware, driven largely by the hard-to-detect CTB-Locker ransomware family, a new ransomware family called Teslacrypt, and the emergence of new versions of CryptoWall, TorrentLocker and BandarChor. McAfee Labs attributes CTB-Locker's success to clever techniques for evading security software, higher-quality phishing emails and an “affiliate” program that offers accomplices a percentage of ransom payments in return for flooding cyberspace with CTB-Locker phishing messages. McAfee Labs suggests organizations and individuals make it a priority to learn how to recognize phishing emails, including the use of tools such as the Intel Security Phishing Quiz at https://phishingquiz.mcafee.com/
The first quarter also saw new Adobe Flash malware samples increase by 317 percent - researchers attribute the rise to several factors: the popularity of Adobe Flash as a technology; user delay in applying available Adobe Flash patches; new methods to exploit product vulnerabilities; a steep increase in the number of mobile devices that can play Adobe Flash files (.swf); and the difficulty of detecting some Adobe Flash exploits. Forty-two new Adobe Flash vulnerabilities were submitted to the National Vulnerability Database in Q1. On the same day those vulnerabilities were posted, Adobe made initial fixes available for all of them. Now, more effort needs to go into convincing users to patch their Adobe Flash software promptly. The May 2015 report also identified a number of other developments in the first quarter of 2015:
* PC Malware Growth. The first quarter saw a slight decline in new PC malware, a development primarily due to the activity of one adware family, SoftPulse, which spiked in Q4 2014 and returned to normal levels in Q1 2015. The McAfee Labs malware “zoo” grew 13 percent during that time, and now contains 400 million samples. * Mobile Malware. The number of new mobile malware samples jumped by 49 percent from Q4 2014 to Q1 2015.
* SSL-Attacks. SSL-related attacks continued in Q1 2015, although they tapered off in number relative to Q4 2014. This reduction is likely the result of SSL library updates that have eliminated many of the vulnerabilities exploited in prior quarters. Shellshock attacks are still quite prevalent since their emergence late last year.
* Spam Botnets. The Dyre, Dridex, and Darkmailer3.Slenfbot botnets overtook Festi and Darkmailer2 as the top spam networks; pushing pharmaceuticals, stolen credit cards and “shady” social-media marketing tools.
