The Trojan virus, known as Win32.Zippo.10, is not new; in fact, so-called “ransomware” viruses have been around for 15 years, according Ken Dunham, a senior engineer at VeriSign. This latest incarnation is the third reported scam of its kind.
According to Sophos, victims of the virus can contact the company for the password. Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, was adamant in a recent press release: “There should be no need for anyone unfortunate enough to have suffered from the ransomware attack to have to pay the reward.”
Users unlucky enough to contract the “ransomware” virus receive the following error riddled message:
“INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO GET YUOR FILES BACK READ CAREFULLY. Your computer catched our software while browsing illegal porn pages, all your documents, text files, databases was archived with long enought password[sic].”
The massage goes on to warn against attempting to defeat the virus. Instead, victims are instructed to pay $300 to an E-Gold account. Creators of the virus operate numerous E-Gold accounts, rotating them on a random basis to avoid detection.
According to Govind Rammurthy, CEO of Internet security firm MicroWorld Technologies, ransomware viruses are rare because perpetrators keep a low-profile to escape detection.