Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have often been associated with ransomware over the past few months. Most types of malware effectively demand a payment in BTC before files are restored. nRansom proves to be a very different creature, as it has no interest in cryptocurrency whatsoever. That is good news for the industry, but the new payment method is even stranger. Victims are asked to send at least 10 different naked pictures to the criminals.
It is evident cybercriminals are getting weirder when it comes to ransomware infections. nRansom is one of the oddest creations we have come across to date. While it’s good to see there is no demand for Bitcoin, asking for nude pictures is pretty offensive. It is unclear where this sudden change comes from, though. Bitcoin has been a preferred payment method for ransomware developers over the past two to three years.
nRansom is a Creepy Type of Ransomware
What is even creepier about nRansom is the reference to Thomas the Tank Engine. It is displayed as your computer’s wallpaper once you are infected with this malicious software. The combination of demanding naked pictures and a picture of Thomas will creep a lot of people out. Luckily, it does not appear this type of malware is spread on a large scale just yet. It is a very disturbing type of ransomware, that much is certain.
Not sure about this…
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Sample: https://t.co/EOth6eUZOy@BleepinComputer @demonslay335
cc @x0rz @malwareunicorn pic.twitter.com/j5CAL2AH3Y— MalwareHunterTeam (@malwrhunterteam) September 21, 2017
However, this malware is a legitimate threat to anyone who gets infected by it. It is officially recognized as a malicious software package by most antivirus engines right now. Plus, it appears there may be some other variations of the same ransomware floating around the world wide web as we speak. No one knows for sure how it is distributed right now, though. Given few samples spotted so far, it doesn’t appear distribution of this malware is a priority right now.
All of this goes to show cybercriminals come in many different forms and shapes. Most of them do it for fame and money. Others are far more perverted in nature, that much is rather obvious. Anyone infected with nRansom should never meet the demands of the criminals. That goes for any type of ransomware, but this one in particular right now. It will be interesting to see if nRansom will effectively become a big threat or not. For now, it doesn’t look like it, but things can change at any time.