Hack The Sec-Leading Resource Of Linux Tutorial: Ransom32 Ransomware

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Here's New Year's first Ransomware: <b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ransom32</b>.</div>
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A new Ransomware-as-a-service, dubbed <i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ransom32</i>, has been spotted that for the first time uses a ransomware written in JavaScript to infect Mac, Windows as well as Linux machines.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvTTNzz8ihRlaZZlbVZdKxIztqSn_6kAqSQ96Yb8uAgnFtZIEh3DM9uf2TXhBM6aRMP5pu73T1Jv8O7l2-YCdgBQdExHEbBnDP-i1ALaU2aan7lmibMb_kLXvugJwiNRvkjA6NCeeo2VH/s1600/javascript-ransomware-malware.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvTTNzz8ihRlaZZlbVZdKxIztqSn_6kAqSQ96Yb8uAgnFtZIEh3DM9uf2TXhBM6aRMP5pu73T1Jv8O7l2-YCdgBQdExHEbBnDP-i1ALaU2aan7lmibMb_kLXvugJwiNRvkjA6NCeeo2VH/s1600/javascript-ransomware-malware.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ransom32 allows its operators to deploy the malware very quickly and easily. It has a dashboard that enables operators to designate their Bitcoin addresses to which the ransom can be sent. The dashboard also shows stats about how much Bitcoins they have made.</div>
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In short, this new ransomware-as-a-service is so simple, and efficient at the same time, that anyone can download and distribute his/her own copy of the ransomware executable as long as he/she have a Bitcoin address.</div>
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The copy of Ransom32 was first analysed by Emsisoft, which found that the new ransomware family, which embedded in a self-extracting WinRAR archive, is using the NW.js platform for infiltrating the victims' computers, and then holding their files by encrypting them with<b style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 128-bit AES encryption</b>.</div>
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But, Why the NW.js Framework?</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKMM2qT3BeI5BmEyvxBP7BM7jL50vueUWfhH42FPbsYa0zTkSlziWDhGPiDP176uqNeiDAbJ6MOSxDgo1z32VUNBrH3HXjgssyOo5d-byGZM5Zzvf_VyXpLR8EkJbmFsItvocIvPA5R4J/s1600/ransom32-malware.png" imageanchor="1" style="border: 0px; clear: left; color: #4184f3; cursor: default; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; pointer-events: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="ransom32-malware" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKMM2qT3BeI5BmEyvxBP7BM7jL50vueUWfhH42FPbsYa0zTkSlziWDhGPiDP176uqNeiDAbJ6MOSxDgo1z32VUNBrH3HXjgssyOo5d-byGZM5Zzvf_VyXpLR8EkJbmFsItvocIvPA5R4J/s1600/ransom32-malware.png" style="border: 0px; clear: both; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 728px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="ransom32-malware" /></a></div>
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<b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NW.js</b>, formerly known as Node-WebKit, is a JavaScript framework for app development based on Node.js and Chromium. It works around normally-strict sandboxing of JavaScript, so a Web app can be repurposed for desktops without the sandbox getting in its way.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-left-color: rgb(191, 202, 218); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 8px; font-stretch: inherit; margin: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px; quotes: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"NW.js allows for much more control and interaction with the underlying operating system (OS), enabling JavaScript to do almost everything 'normal' programming languages like C++ or Delphi can do,"</i> Emsisoft's Fabian Wosar <a href="http://blog.emsisoft.com/2016/01/01/meet-ransom32-the-first-javascript-ransomware/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #4184f3; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">writes</a>.</blockquote>
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The NW.js framework not only allows for cross-platform infections but also is harder to detect because it is a legitimate framework. Ransom32 has some resemblance to <b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">CryptoLocker</b> that is one of the nasty ransomware that already infected millions of PCs.</div>
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Ransom32 has been traded on the dark web with the authors asking for a 25 percent cut of all ransom payments for offering its service and forwarding the rest of the amount to the operator’s Bitcoin address.</div>
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How Does Ransom32 Work?</h3>
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Malware operators place the malicious file inside emails masquerading as delivery notifications, unpaid invoices, and such.</div>
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As soon as it was installed and launched, Ransom32 connected to a command-and-control (C&C) server on TOR anonymising network, displaying ransom note as shown above and the Bitcoin address where victims are supposed to pay to recover their files.</div>
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Currently, Wosar has only seen Ransom32 as a Windows attack vector, but the NW.js framework can run on all three major operating systems.</div>
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Therefore, ransomware coded to work on top of NW.js would theoretically be able to target Mac OS X as well as Linux operating systems.</div>
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How to Protect Yourself from Ransomware Threat?</h3>
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Here are some important steps that should be considered to protect yourself from Ransomware threats.</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Make sure you run an active anti-virus security suite of tools on your system.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Do not open email attachments from unknown sources.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Most importantly, always browse the Internet safely</li>
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