Abstract
Ransomware can be classified into groups using different criteria, for example, according to its function such as whether it is a locker or encryption ransomware. Security experts prefer to classify ransomware into families according to its code signature, which contains the sequence of commands and instructions responsible for the malicious action. For this chapter, I will mention the most prominent ransomware families and their popular variants according to their release date and talk a little bit about each one; later in the book, I will give decryption utilities for each family where available.
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Notes
- 1.
Checkpoint, “Ryuk Ransomware: A Targeted Campaign Break-Down” July 28, 2019, https://research.checkpoint.com/ryuk-ransomware-targeted-campaign-break
- 2.
Thenextweb, “Ryuk ransomware earns hackers $3.7M in Bitcoin over 5 months” July 28, 2019 https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/01/14/ryuk-bitcoin-ransomware
- 3.
Securityintelligence, “More Than 100 US Businesses Affected by Ryuk Ransomware Since August 2018, Finds FBI” July 28, 2019 https://securityintelligence.com/news/more-than-100-us-businesses-affected-by-ryuk-ransomware-since-august-2018-finds-fbi
- 4.
Greenfieldreporter, “Hospital pays $55,000 ransom; no patient data stolen,” February 26, 2019, http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/2018/01/16/01162018dr_hancock_health_pays_ransom/
- 5.
Zdnet, “Atlanta projected to spend at least $2.6 million on ransomware recovery,” February 26, 2019, https://www.zdnet.com/article/atlanta-spent-at-least-two-million-on-ransomware-attack-recovery
- 6.
Denverpost, “Cyber attack on CDOT computers estimated to cost up to $1.5 million so far,” February 26, 2019, https://www.denverpost.com/2018/04/05/samsam-ransomware-cdot-cost/
- 7.
Sophos, “SamSam: The (Almost) Six Million Dollar Ransomware,” February 26, 2019, https://www.sophos.com/en-us/medialibrary/PDFs/technical-papers/SamSam-The-Almost-Six-Million-Dollar-Ransomware.pdf
- 8.
Bleepingcomputer, “UltraCrypter not providing Decryption Keys after payment. Launches Help Desk,” February 26, 2019, https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ultracrypter-not-providing-decryption-keys-after-payment-launches-help-desk/
- 9.
Econinfosec, “Ransomware Payments in the Bitcoin Ecosystem,” February 26, 2019, https://weis2018.econinfosec.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/05/WEIS_2018_paper_21.pdf
- 10.
Gosecure, “Upcoming WEIS presentation: Ransomware Payment in the Bitcoin Ecosystem,” February 26, 2019, https://gosecure.net/2018/06/18/ransomware-payment-in-the-bitcoin-ecosystem/
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© 2019 Nihad A. Hassan
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Hassan, N.A. (2019). Ransomware Families. In: Ransomware Revealed. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4255-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4255-1_3
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