The ransomware is based on locking the victims' device (or several) and encrypts most of the files on the hard drive with an offer to open them again in exchange for paying money via Bitcoin.
Meaning, it is an extortion virus that bargains the victim in its original and important files in exchange for money paid to the bad parties behind the virus.
The ransomware usually targets institutions and companies that provide periodic services to their users, which makes the damage great by hijacking their files and encrypting them, and obliging them to pay to return the files to their normal state.
The company "Capcom" which is one of the well-known gaming companies behind several international games such as:
Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, Megaman, and Street Fighter.
Capcom was exposed to the ransomware that locked and encrypted most of the company's files and stipulated that it pay a sum of money to return the files to their normal condition.
Ransomware asks Capcom to pay $ 11 million:
At the beginning of November 2020, Capcom issued a statement informing that it was the target of a hacker attack.
The Japanese company did not clarify the nature of the attack, and only said that it had stopped some operations and informed the authorities, and its statement came to the effect:
Starting in the early hours of the morning of November 2, 2020, some Capcom networks ran into issues that affected access to certain systems, including email and file servers.
This is due to unauthorized access by a third party.
Some internal network operations were halted as of November 2.
However, a cybersecurity expert with knowledge of the malware scene under the alias " Pancak3lullz " was able to analyze bits of malware code and told "Bleeping Computer" that "Capcom" had been attacked by ransomware developed by a group known as "Ragnar Locker". “.
Pancak3lullz said that Ragnar Locker was able to encrypt 2,000 devices on Capcom networks, requesting $ 11 million worth of bitcoins in exchange for a key decrypting nearly 2 terabytes of information that is now inaccessible to before. Capcom.
Among the data encrypted by the virus are document files, passports, sales reports, bank data, contracts, and many databases containing strategic information.
Ransomware: a growing problem in the cybersecurity and crypto industry:
The growing number of ransomware attacks is another dark chapter in the crypto industry, with many hackers demanding payment via Bitcoin or Monero.
The matter of resorting to encrypted digital currencies due to the difficulty of tracking money and the ease of making transfers from anywhere in the world, during the past months, this type of crime has become very common, to the extent that it is estimated that every 10 seconds, at least one of the business companies is attacked Of ransomware.
In 2016, the numbers were close to one attack every two minutes.
One of the most popular ransomware packages recently is REvil.
In recent months, key figures such as "Donald Trump", "Lady Gaga" and "Madonna" have been attacked.
They have also posted ads in public forums, where they hire programmers to increase the quality of their tools.
This is undoubtedly a challenge for a generation that relies more and more on digital information.