Hikacker's new tool- Ransomware

Online frauds and data theft are things of the past – A new weapon in criminal’s kitty is ransomware - a popular and reliable business model for criminals.
Using a new sophisticated malware (ransomware) visa email or websites, your personal data – photos, videos and business documents are automatically encrypted. Getting those files back means paying a fee to the criminals who control the malware—and hoping they will keep their side of the bargain by decrypting them.

A recent article in MIT’s Tech review  suggests -
The latest ransomware requests payment via the hard-to-trace cryptocurrency Bitcoin and uses the anonymizing Tor network. Millions of home and business computers were infected by ransomware in 2014. 

If we look closely in history, these malwares became active sometime in last 10 years. But the real concern now is the effectiveness and sophistication they have achieved with latest versions.
I am sure, each of us would have got into a situation, which demanded applying new anti-virus or becoming member of a website to unlock your computer. The message would tell us to pay the amount within 3 days to unlock the data.

With law enforcement from multiple countries- US,UK and Europe many of such malicious companies were identified and shut-down only to have dozens other cropping up again. Many security companies and academics were shocked to find stash of encryption keys used for this ransom activity.

Another piece of ransomware, CTB Locker, is the fastest-growing today. It uses stronger encryption than previous specimens, the same Tor trick as Cryptowall, and even a clever “freemium” design: victims get a chance to decrypt some of their data for free to demonstrate that paying up really will work. CTB Locker comes in several versions, in languages including Italian, Dutch, German, and Russian, as well as English. It is spreading most rapidly in Germany, Poland, Mexico, and South America, says Dawda.

The best way to keep ransomware off your computer, experts say, is to follow best practices by keeping software updated, using antivirus and other security software, and being careful about where you click and what you install. Backing up data on a separate hard drive or using a cloud service could save you from being held for ransom if an infection does occur.

Source : MIT Tech Review