15 ms·
Seems like the only way Ransomware will ever die is if people start releasing non-functional ransomware implementations that accept payment but leave data encry
by cwkoss 10y ago
Seems like the only way Ransomware will ever die is if people start releasing non-functional ransomware implementations that accept payment but leave data encrypted, so people become skeptical of whether paying will actually get their data back.
- jlgaddis 10y agoYeah, I suppose the victims have been lucky that, thus far, pretty much all of the attackers have been "honest".
- vizzah 10y agothat's their "business model", don't expect they would want to ruin it ;)
- sqeaky 10y agoOnly takes one well spread one who wants to save on actual crypto effort but reap similar rewards to ruin it for everyone. In the absence of good communication the tragedy of the commons is... well its common.
- thaumasiotes 10y agoFailing to return your victims' data doesn't just poison the well for other, more sensible ransomware makers -- it poisons it for you. Once you take the first guy's money and leave him with his files destroyed, why would the second guy pay you?
- drivingmenuts 10y agoWhich tells me the other solution is for victims to say it didn't work, even after they paid those assholes.
- iSnow 10y agoEnough victims will come forward and contradict you. Or the creators of the ransomware could plant false reviews.
- drivingmenuts 10y agoWow. Seriously, that is just stupid on their part (the victims).
- addled 10y agoI wonder if they are really worried about the second person, or are more concerned about losing repeat business with their first "customer"?
- thaumasiotes 10y agoThey're worried about the second person. No one is going to make a habit of contracting and then paying off ransomware.
- unclebucknasty 10y ago>why would the second guy pay you? Because the second guy can either guarantee himself to be screwed or pay some nominal amount below his pain threshhold to at least have a chance of recovering his files.
- MichaelGG 10y agoI doubt the crypto code takes more than a day, eh? Generate random data encryption key key. Encrypt with master public key. Done?
- happyslobro 10y agoOh snap, I could do that ;) Non-functional is a secret specialty of mine, although I normally don't release it.
- krisdol 10y ago"I'll work on it... next sprint."
- mikeash 10y agoOr if backups become good enough and ubiquitous enough that ransomware can't even threaten to destroy your data.
- thaumasiotes 10y agoI don't think this can ever happen. If you don't back up very frequently, you're always vulnerable to having something recent taken. If you do back up very frequently, you need to make some hard choices: You need to connect to your backup media very frequently. But, you don't want any ransomware that may find you to also find your backup media; that would defeat the purpose of the backups. Backing up a lot of data very frequently will end up requiring a lot of storage. If you erase old backups to save on storage, you're vulnerable to your latest backup turning out to contain only ransomware-encrypted data.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- lunixbochs 10y agoVersioned / snapshot backups that you don't have full write access to (just append) prevents this. Even if all files are encrypted you'll maintain the previous version.
- Roritharr 10y agoDo TimeMachine Backups fall under this? And if so, what would be the recommendation for Windows?
- dragontamer 10y agoWindows Storage Spaces + File History. Two very, VERY good reasons to upgrade to Windows8 or higher.
- rodgerd 10y ago
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- pakitan 10y agoAnd then you'll have ransomware-review sites popping up, separating the "good" from the "bad" ransomware.
- mangeletti 10y agoAnd before you know it, randomware will become a legitimate part of the economy, like nutraceuticals.
- khedoros 10y agoAnd ransomware mimicking other ransomware. The mimicry doesn't even have to be perfect, if it's good enough to provide the impression that "CryptoVault 3.2" only decrypts your data occasionally, after you pay.
- unclebucknasty 10y agoNyah. Enough desparate people who are otherwise guaranteed to lose everything if they don't try will still take a chance.
- woodman 10y agoThis thought experiment was explored a long time ago, but without psychological part - white worms.
- AlexMax 10y agoConsidering how effective 419 and cat-fishing scams are, I doubt ransomware will ever die. No matter how unreliable it becomes, there will always be another sucker.
- Houshalter 10y agoThe ransomware makers themselves have an incentive to do this. Making a ransomware that just deletes all your files is much easier than proper encryption. And they can still take your money! The only issue is that people would take it to computer repair shops, who surely would know which ransomwares are real or not. You'd need to successfully disguise your ransomware as other people's ransomware, and that's slightly harder.
- throwaway7767 10y ago> The ransomware makers themselves have an incentive to do this. Making a ransomware that just deletes all your files is much easier than proper encryption. And they can still take your money! By doing that, they reduce the chances of people taking the bait next time, and therefore reduce their future source of income. So I have to completely disagree, they have a strong incentive to actually provide unlock keys when someone pays.
- wdr1 10y agoFor better or worse, that's already the case. There are several pieces of ransomware where if you pay, your money effectively just disappears into a void.