Computer Security Poorly Coded Mac Ransomware Spreading via Torrents,...

Poorly Coded Mac Ransomware Spreading via Torrents, Doesn't Decrypt Files after Paying Ransom

mac ransomware spreading via torrentsWith ransomware making a profound impact on the computer security world for over a decade now, the aggressive malware isn't showing any signs of discriminating against certain types of computers or devices with a recent outbreak on MacOS computers. New ransomware, specifically targeting Mac OS X computers, has emerged where its primary method of spreading is through Torrents.

Torrent sites are known to be avenues of the Internet that illegally distribute software. Found in many Torrent services, such as BitTorrent, there is a high risk of obtaining bundled software with the illegally distributed software that users may find. Within those files obtained from BitTorrent distribution sites there can be malware lurking, and in a rash of Torrents, Mac OS X malware has been propagated in the form of ransomware.

The ransomware spreading to target Mac OS X computers is an application that is poorly coded but possesses a serious threat, nonetheless. Upon infection, the Mac OS X ransomware campaign, which has been dubbed "Patcher," displays a transparent window pop-up that asks users to press "start," which will initiate encryption of several files. The initial functions of the Patcher ransomware are no different than other well-known ransomware threats, such as CryptoLocker, CrytoWall, and Locky Ransomware.

The difference and unfortunate part of the Patcher ransomware is that it after it encrypts files and offers victimized users to pay a ransom to decrypt the files; it fails to return its promise of restoring the encrypted files. Fundamentally, there is no way to recover the files that are encrypted by the Patcher ransomware.

Computer security researchers believe that the Patcher ransomware is so poorly coded that it fails to decrypt the files that it initially encrypts on an infected Mac. The instructions from the ransom note asks victims to pay 0.25 Bitcoins to a specified address, which equates to just over $250 USD. However, the good news to come out of the Patcher ransomware is that there are verified reports of it taking money from victims at the moment. Though, because the threat is now in the wild, there is a likelihood of Mac users getting hit with the recent form of Patcher ransomware, either in an updated form that actually decrypts files upon the ransom payment or in its poorly coded form.

Because of threats like Patcher making an entry into the massively growing and highly destructive world of ransomware, the boundaries of such malware are disappearing daily. Not only has ransomware reached Mac OS computers but it has proliferated in mass on mobile devices. We beg to ask what the next stop for ransomware will be considering how it has reached Mac OS X systems, computers that were thought to be nearly incapable of being infected with malware.

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