Security experts have just noticed a new malware which gives victims 96 hours to pay a ransom before it starts deleting files from their computers. In case the victims refuse to pay the demanded ransom, the malware continues deleting files randomly every six hours.
The newly-found threat is called Stampado malware and is sold for less than $50 for a lifetime’s licence.
The main difference between Stampado and other malware variants is that the new threat does not need any administrator rights to start infecting virtual machines.
Ransomware is malicious software which locks the data on victims’ computers and asks for ransom before releasing their files. The cost of unlocking the data is different, with individuals usually paying a few hundred pounds and businesses a few thousand.
“Cryptoware is such a big segment of the malware economy, malware creators have to constantly release new products to keep their clients engaged and the money flowing,” the security company Heimdal wrote.
Last month, Intel Security researchers said that they had seen an “alarming” rise in the volume of ransomware available to cyber criminals. According to the experts, the hackers had logged 124 separate versions of the malware.
Additionally, the FBI said that it had seen ransomware attacks double in the past year, with more than 2,400 complaints. It estimated that the losses from such attacks stand at $24m for this period of time.
Over the past few months, hospitals, banks and educational institutions have all been hit by malware attacks. Most of the institutions tried hard to solve the problem internally before paying the ransoms.
