The dangers of opening suspicious emails: Crowti ransomware - Microsoft Malware Protection Center - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

The dangers of opening suspicious emails: Crowti ransomware - Microsoft Malware Protection Center - Site Home - TechNet Blogs



The Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) has seen a spike in number of detections for threats in the Win32/Crowti ransomware
this month as the result of new malware campaigns. Crowti is a family
of ransomware that when encountered will attempt to encrypt the files on
your PC, and then ask for payment to unlock them. These threats are
being distributed through spam email campaigns and exploits.


Crowti impacts both enterprise and home users, however, this type of
threat can be particularly damaging in enterprise environments. In most
cases, ransomware such as Crowti can encrypt files and leave them
inaccessible. That’s why it’s important to back up files on a regular
basis. Cloud storage technologies such as OneDrive for Business can help with features such as built-in version history that helps you revert back to an unencrypted version of your files.


We also recommend you increase awareness about the dangers of opening suspicious emails –
this includes not opening email attachments or links from untrusted
sources. Attackers will usually try to imitate regular business
transaction emails such as fax, voice mails, or receipts. If you receive
an email that you’re not expecting, it’s best to ignore it. Try to
validate the source of the email first before clicking on a link or
opening the attachment. There is more advice to help prevent an
infection from ransomware and other threats at the end of this blog. 

How to leak sensitive data from an isolated computer air-gap to a near...

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Ransomware US-CERT ALERT

WHAT IS RANSOMWARE?

Ransomware is a type of malware that
infects a computer and restricts a user’s access to the infected
computer. This type of malware, which has now been observed for several
years, attempts to extort money from victims by displaying an on-screen
alert. These alerts often state that their computer has been locked or
that all of their files have been encrypted, and demand that a ransom is
paid to restore access. This ransom is typically in the range of
$100–$300 dollars, and is sometimes demanded in virtual currency, such
as Bitcoin.

Ransomware is typically spread through phishing emails
that contain malicious attachments and drive-by downloading. Drive-by
downloading occurs when a user unknowingly visits an infected website
and malware is downloaded and installed without their knowledge. Crypto
ransomware, a variant that encrypts files, is typically spread through
similar methods, and has been spread through Web-based instant messaging
applications.

WHY IS IT SO EFFECTIVE?

The authors of
ransomware instill fear and panic into their victims, causing them to
click on a link or pay a ransom, and inevitably become infected with
additional malware, including messages similar to those below:

• “Your computer has been infected with a virus. Click here to resolve the issue.”
• “Your computer was used to visit websites with illegal content. To unlock your computer, you must pay a $100 fine.”
• “All files on your computer have been encrypted. You must pay this ransom within 72 hours to regain access to your data.”

 

https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA14-295A

Ethics in a Cyber world

As the Internet has become more and more central to our lives, our online and offline identities have become less and less separate. Where the Internet was once a place where nobody knew we were dogs and we lived Second Lives as customizable avatars, today we mostly surf the Web as ourselves. Many of the most popular environments, such as Facebook, ask us to sign up using our real names, and even on services like Twitter, which allow for pseudonymy, people use their real names more often than not.
One area where a divide still exists between our online and offline selves, however, is in the realm of morality. While MediaSmarts’ study Young Canadians in a Wired World found that while young people are often actively kind and thoughtful towards people online – a finding supported by research from both the U.S.^[1] and the UK^[2] – hostile and aggressive behaviour is also common: almost nine in ten teens in the U.S. study said that they had “seen someone being mean or cruel to another person on a social network site,” while the UK research found that “almost a third of primary school age children and a quarter of secondary school age children said that mean comments or behaviour stops them from enjoying their time online.” Moreover, even those youth who choose to act in positive ways online often describe the Internet as a place where morals and ethics by default do not apply, in which people say and do things they never would in person. What this suggests is that while young people generally have good moral instincts, they need more guidance than they’re getting about how to view the online world as a space where morals and ethics apply.

To read more please go to link below.


By Submitted by Matthew Johnson on 09 Oct 2014.


http://mediasmarts.ca/blog/ethics-online