Cloudy with a chance of ransomware

Cybercrooks have brewed up a strain of malware that both encrypts and infects files.

The Virlock ransomware is dangerous because infected files can be spread through through cloud sync and collaboration applications, putting enterprises particularly at risk of attack. Cloud security firm Netskope warns that the tactic creates a new infection vector for ransomware beyond opening an infected email, network shares or visiting a malware-infected website using a poorly patched Windows PC.

Any user who opens a file infected by Virlock will cause all the files on their systems to become to encrypted and infected by what Netskope describes as a polymorphic file infector ransomware. “This ransomware potentially exhibits a new propagation vector with a combination of ransomware and file infection characteristics that could be detrimental for an enterprise customer,” it warns. ®