September 29, 2016 — 3 min read
Ransomware by Itself Is Scary. Ransomware-As-A-Service Is Much Worse
Ransomware gangsters steal a page from the legit software industry’s distribution playbook
Ransomware has emerged as the most prolific new malware threat of the 21st century, with online criminals expecting to reap a billion dollars from victims from it in 2016. We have talked here about how ransomware works (it infects your PC, server or phone, encrypts your files, and demands an online payment in return for the decryption key) and why so many criminals are getting into the ransomware business (it’s an extremely profitable racket). We expect the ransomware epidemic to continue to mushroom in size, becoming a multi-billion dollar business in 2017, making it inevitable that you or someone you know has to pay a hefty ransom or lose their files forever. How is this crooked business growing so quickly, despite the efforts of law enforcement and the IT security industry to thwart it?
