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Submitted by: Bill Hickey
NCVA List Master

NRT-0261 Second New Ransomware Trojan Surfaces This Week:

PandaLabs has uncovered a new ransomware strain - Sinowal.FY - that encrypts users' files so they cannot access them, and demands a $300 ransom for a tool to decrypt the files as well as the decryption key, according to the Pand Web site. When Sinowal.FY installs on a system, it encrypts every single document on the hard disk and creates a file called "read_me.txt" with the kidnapper's demands. In order to speed up payment, the text sets a deadline for paying the ransom, claiming that otherwise all data will be lost. However, this is not true, as the encrypted content remains on the computer, according to Panda. The Synowal family of Trojans has traditionally been used to steal passwords and banking details. "This is just an example of how malware creators are trying to get as much benefit as possible from a single malware creation," said Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs.

(www.pandasoftware.com 17Jul07)

Last Modified: Tuesday, 31-Jul-2007 23:12:07 EDT