Malware is going mainstream. Along with surveys, machine learning, predictive analytics, there is now an online service for developing your own ransomware malware.
Swati Khandelwal writes in: ‘Tox’ Offers Free build-your-own Ransomware Malware Toolkit:
“Ransomware” threat is on the rise, but the bad news is that Ransomware campaigns are easier to run, and now a Ransomware kit is being offered by hackers for free for anyone to download and distribute the threat.
Ransomware is a type of computer virus that infects a target computer, encrypts their sensitive documents and files, and locks the out until the victim pays a ransom amount, most often in Bitcoins.
Sometimes even the best security experts aren’t able to unlock them and end up paying off ransom to crooks in order to get their important files back.
Tox — Free Ransomware Kit
Now, to spread this creepy threat more easily by even a non-tech user, one dark web hacker has released a ransomware-as-a-service kit, dubbed “Tox,” for anyone to download and set up their own ransomware for free.
Yes, believe it or not, but Tox is completely free to use. The developers of the online software make money by taking a cut (20%) of any successful ransomware campaigns its users run.
Tox, which runs on TOR, requires not much technical skills to use and is designed in such a way that almost anyone can easily deploy ransomware in three simple steps, according to security researchers at McAfee who discovered the kit.
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Before you leap onto the Dark Web to sign up, consider this:
Anyone willing to assist you in cheating others, is capable of cheating you.
Swati has good advice on avoiding ransomware and points to Free Ransomware Decryption and Malware Removal ToolKit and How to protect your computer from ransomware malware? as additional resources.