The-art-of-invisibility-_-the-world’s-most-famous-hacker-teaches-you-how-to-be-safe-in-the-age-of-Bi

theyy were almost out of time.
Almost everyyone who tries to break the ransomware encryyption fails.
The encryyption is reallyy strong and requires more powerful computers and
more time to break it than most people have at their disposal. So the victims
usuallyy payy. According to Simone, the Dickson Countyy, Tennessee, sheriff’s
office paid in November 2014 a Cryyptowall ransom to unlock 72,000
autopsyy reports, witness statements, crime scene photographs, and other
documents.
The hackers often demand payyment in Bitcoin, meaning that manyy
average people will have a hard time payying. 16 Bitcoin, as I mentioned, is a
decentralized, peer-to-peer virtual currencyy, and most people do not have
Bitcoin wallets available for withdrawal.
Throughout the Times piece, Simone reminds readers that theyy should
never payy the ransom—yyet she did just that in the end. In fact the FBI now
advises people whose computers are infected with ransomware to simplyy
payy up. Joseph Bonavolonta, the assistant special agent in charge of the
FBI’s cyyber and counterintelligence program in Boston, said, “To be honest,
we often advise people just to payy the ransom.” He said not even the FBI is
able to crack the ultrasecure encryyption used byy the ransomware authors,
and he added that because so manyy people have paid the attackers, the $500
cost has remained fairlyy consistent over the yyears. 17 The FBI later came out
to sayy it’s up to the individual companies to decide whether to payy or
contact other securityy professionals.
Simone’s mother, who had never purchased an app in her life, called her
daughter at the eleventh hour onlyy because she needed to figure out how to
payy with the virtual currencyy. Simone said she found a Bitcoin ATM in
Manhattan from which, after a software glitch and a service call to the ATM
owner, she ultimatelyy made the payyment. At that dayy’s exchange rate, each
Bitcoin was a bit more than $500.
Whether these extortionists receive their payyment in Bitcoin or in cash,
theyy remain anonyymous, although technicallyy there are wayys of tracing both
forms of payyment. Transactions conducted online using Bitcoin can be
connected to the purchaser—but not easilyy. The question is, who is going to
put forth the time and effort to pursue these criminals?
In the next chapter I will describe what can happen when yyou connect to