Report: Average ransomware demand now over $1,000

The average amount of a ransomware demand has increased from $294 in 2015 to $1,077 last year, according to a report released last week by Symantec. “That’s a pretty dramatic increase,” said Kevin Haley, director of security response at Symantec. According to other estimates, total ransomware revenues passed $1 billion last year. To read this…

Shodan search engine starts unmasking malware command-and-control servers

There’s now a new tool that could allow companies to quickly block communications between malware programs and their frequently changing command-and-control servers. Threat intelligence company Recorded Future has partnered with Shodan, a search engine for internet-connected devices and services, to create a new online crawler called Malware Hunter. The new service continuously scans the internet…