The tidal wave of ransomware continues. The Q3 reports for the scamming racket show that close to a million individual cases of ransomware infection. The different viruses are also up.
Q3 2016 and Ransomware
According to Kaspersky’s quarterly report, the ransomware infections for the Q3 of 2016 have increased with 500 thousand individual user infections, 821,865 to Q2’s 311,590. The number of ransomware variants has also increased 3.5 times in comparison to Q2.
The most common ransomware families according to Kaspersky are:
- CTB-Locker
- Locky
- CryptXXX
- TeslaCrypt
- Shade
- Cryakl
- Cryrar/ACCDFISA
- Cerber
- CryptoWall
- Crysis
This list isn’t very descriptive of what viruses are the most dangerous. The mark of an effective virus is measured by the number of successful infections, not by how common they are.
The countries most often targeted by crypto viruses are; The United States, Germany, The Netherlands, Russia, France, and Great Britain. The least protected countries in terms of cyber-security are Slovenia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Italy, and Ukraine.
The report is grounded in the data that Kaspersky Lab could access, so it’s probable that the number of infections is higher. The report also shows an increase in infections of other malware types, mainly Android malware and banking Trojans.
Q3 – Ransomware Season
There’s always a larger amount of infections in the fall, but the increase in ransomware activity isn’t a seasonal occurrence. Ransomware is here to stay, sadly. At this point, things seem like they’re going to get worse. The profits from crypto scams are getting bigger and crooks aren’t going to stop by themselves.
The only way to stop the ransomware epidemic is through good cyber-security hygiene:
- Don’t visit shady websites
- Avoid opening ZIP attachments from your email inbox
- Get anti-malware protection
If you were infected with a crypto-virus, you’re likely going to encounter the same threat again. That’s why it’s crucial to improve your cyber-security. One infection opens the door to another, just like a real virus.
