Malware, short for Malicious Software, has been wreaking havoc on computers and networks for decades. Since the first example was found in the early 70s, the numbers showing their growth are worryingly impressive: it really took until around 2005 for it to take off, but at that point there were thousands of new examples being found every day on the internet. In 2012, AV-TEST claims malware hit the 100,000,000 mark, which almost doubled in the next year alone. In 2015, the number topped half a billion different cases, with more than 1 million new ones found daily.
Now, the internet is big, but avoiding that many opportunities for malware to infect your computer is tough even if you ...
By Mark Phillips ¦ Blog.Scanguard.com ¦ Updated 15th May 2017, 07.31 EDT
If any further proof was needed of ransomware’s continual threat in today’s world, it’s now being splashed across international headlines following a mass-scale global attack. Britain is renowned for its top-tier public health service, the NHS, but many of its hospitals have now been brought to their knees after computer systems were aggressively breached. Countless appointments and operations had to be cancelled after forty-five NHS organisations and trusts found themselves locked out of patient records and company medical systems. Users were met by a pop-up that read ‘Ooops, your files have been encrypt...
By Mark Phillips ¦ Blog.Scanguard.com ¦ Updated 22nd May 2017, 06.14 EDT
The Shadow Brokers, who recently became one of the world’s most notorious cyber attack groups after leaking a stolen hacking tool from the US National Security Agency, is threatening to release even more tools.
In a harrowing message, the group raised alarm bells by stating they would be launching a paid membership scheme from June which will allow fellow cyber criminals to receive more computer hacking tools and vulnerability exploits on a monthly basis.
“Its being like wine of month club,” Shadow Brokers said on social blogging platform, Steemit. “Each month peoples can be paying membership fee, t...
By Mark Phillips ¦ Blog.Scanguard.com ¦ Updated 30th May 2017, 08.16 EDT
In yet more harrowing news, a Croatian researcher has discovered a new worm, known as EternalRocks, that utilizes seven stolen hacking tools from the NSA. The malware shares characteristics with WannaCry, and could potentially pose an even greater threat than the already notorious ransomware.
But, for now, there is no need to lose our heads in blind panic. Well, sort of. According to Miroslav Stampar, a member of the Croation Government CERT, the EternalRocks bug is not currently activated to carry out attacks on infected computers.
In other words, for the moment it’s just code that is spreading itself from...
By Mark Phillips ¦ Blog.Scanguard.com ¦ Updated 28th June 2017, 05.12 EDT
A new major malware attack has started to spread rapidly, crippling major organizations by locking down PCs and holding the data to ransom.
Hackers have launched a new strain of ransomware virus, known as ‘Petya’, designed to hijack a victims’ computer by encrypting their files, only releasing them when a financial ransom is paid.
Among the malicious software’s victims are major firms Mondelez, Maersk, and DLA Piper. Chernobyl’s radiation monitoring system has been struck, causing its sensors to cease functioning. In addition, the largest advertising agency in the world, the UK-based WPP, was jus...
By Mark Phillips ¦ Updated 28th June 2017, 05.12 EDT
Android users are being urged to remain vigilant when downloading apps, especially since a new form of ransomware has been discovered. GhostCtrl, a malicious software with the means to secretly record its users, is being spread by disguising itself as popular apps such as WhatsApp and Pokemon Go.
In addition to covertly capturing audio and video recordings, the malware can lock a device’s screen and its password. Once this has taken place, its unwitting user is unable to access their files, and is subsequently at the mercy of the attacker who can now impose a ransom.
Trend Micro, a computer security company who first discover...
By Mark Phillips ¦ Updated 26th October 2017, 05.12 EDT
In what is becoming yet another startling addition to a year plagued by numerous high-profile cyber attacks, Europe has been hit by a new wave of ransomware. The malicious software, which has been branded ‘Bad Rabbit’, follows the same modus operandi of other strains before it: forcibly locking and encrypting victims’ computers and demanding a monetary bribe for data to be released.
Once Bad Rabbit has taken hold, compromised computers display a ransom message that asks for £210 in the form of anonymous Bitcoin currency. According to online security firm Kaspersky Lab, Russia appears to be the main target of the malici...
By Mark Phillips ¦ Updated 27th November 2017, 05.12 EDT
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2017 has seen a dramatic rise in the number of cyber attacks spreading across the globe and in 2018 we are set for more of the same! Numerous government warnings have dominated the media to alert the public to the fact that these cyber criminals are becoming increasingly more difficult to catch, and protecting your yourself from such attacks is a necessity!
Some of the biggest cyber attacks of the year like the ‘Bad Rabbit’ attack back in October saw malicious software disguise itself as a Windows Flash update in order for innocent people download t...
