Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Security Firm Finds Ransomware Criminals Deliver Bad Victim Support

    By
    Robert Lemos
    -
    July 19, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Ransomware Support 2

      Most crypto-ransomware gangs are willing to negotiate with customers, but support for non-technical users varies tremendously, security firm F-Secure found during an investigation of such cyber-criminal groups.

      The firm’s security team worked with a non-technical employee, who acted as the victim, to contact ransomware groups and find out how supportive they were of their victims. Security researchers helped the employee set up a burner email account, hide her internet address and take other steps to keep her identity safe. They only referred to her as “Christine” in talking to the media.

      “We took someone here who was non-technical and threw [that person] into the ransomware world,” said Sean Sullivan, a security advisor with F-Secure. “It was all about detailing the user experience with the operations.”

      Overall, aside from the Cerber variant of ransomware and its operators, the criminal groups scored low for professionalism, how well their support staff conveyed information and whether their software and representatives could converse in different languages, according to a report published by F-Secure. The company looked at five different groups. Cerber scored 8.5 on a nine-point scale, indicating that it was a professional endeavor, while all other variants scored a 4 or less.

      As ransomware infections have increased over the past year, some victims—especially non-technical users—are left with less hope of recovering their data easily by paying a ransom. In the first quarter of 2016, the FBI has reportedly estimated that ransomware caused $209 million in damages. In one survey, about half of U.S. victims admitted paying the ransom to recover their data.

      Yet, there are a number of hurdles to recovering data, unless a user has made recent backups.

      Bitcoins pose a major stumbling block for many victims and the criminal operators often seem ready to take advantage of a victim’s naiveté. Some of the criminals contacted by Christine pointed her toward bitcoin exchanges that likely were owned by other criminals, Sullivan said.

      Three out of four of the ransomware operations were willing to negotiate. One cut its asking price by two-thirds, according to F-Secure. Perhaps not surprising, the group behind Cerber would not negotiate, but did give the victim an extension to pay.

      The study highlights that ransomware operators must tread a fine line, and not all of them do it well, according to F-Secure.

      “These are criminals who are making money off the backs of people and businesses they are hurting, [b]ut conversely, like any decent venture, they’re also concerned about offering good customer service—including support channels and reliable decryption after payment,” the company stated in the report. “The difference, of course, is that ransomware gangs have coercively forced people into the position of being their customer.”

      In some cases, however, Christine’s conversations with the criminals underscored that they were humans as well and that ransomware is not likely their first choice as a business, Sullivan said.

      “Christine was lured in, she felt bad for the guy, because the back and forth really felt genuine,” he said. “Someone who is not cynical of these people’s motives could be pulled in really quickly.”

      Robert Lemos
      Robert Lemos is an award-winning freelance journalist who has covered information security, cybercrime and technology's impact on society for almost two decades. A former research engineer, he's written for Ars Technica, CNET, eWEEK, MIT Technology Review, Threatpost and ZDNet. He won the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2003 for his coverage of the Blaster worm and its impact, and the SANS Institute's Top Cybersecurity Journalists in 2010 and 2014.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×