CryptoLocker Gang Earns $30 Million In Just 100 Days 202
DavidGilbert99 writes "A report from Dell Secureworks earlier this week reported that up to 250,000 systems have been infected with the pernicious ransomware known as CryptoLocker. Digging a little deeper, David Gilbert at IBTimes UK found that the average ransom being paid was $300, and than on a very conservative basis just 0.4% of people paid the ransom. What does this all add up to? $30 million for the gang controlling CryptoLocker — and this could be 'many times bigger.'"
Re:Broken article link (Score:4, Funny)
Better Than Commercial Software? (Score:2, Funny)
Does CryptoLocker actually do what it says when a person pays? That's better than a lot of commercial software I've used. The gaming, media, and high-level engineering software industries are particularly bad on this point.
Re:Alright NSA, why is this going on? (Score:4, Funny)
oh, you've just made cold fjord sad, you insensitive clod
Re:hey dummies (Score:4, Funny)
And so is the $30 million figure. 0.4% * 250,000 * $300 = $300,000.
You can't expect journalists to have a grasp of basic math. Or the general public for that matter. Otherwise the headline "Company X settles 'largest lawsuit in history' at Y billion dollars" wouldn't have the impact it does after realizing Company X's revenue was Z trillion dollars. And who knows -- with the instability of bitcoin pricing, it might well be worth $30 million next week... -_-
Re:Error (Score:5, Funny)
Re:So, Zuckerberg is behind cryptolocker???? (Score:5, Funny)
...And it's a fun read, too:
"English is not the CryptoLocker Group's first language" - apparently it's not IB Times's, either, as seen in the article: "CryptoLocker is not currently being sold to anyone other criminal gangs".
"it was being distributed by the Gameover Zeus malware, in some cases via the renowned Cutwail bonnet."
"malware is typical among cyber-criminals in Russia and easter Europe,"
"this was quickly cut to 1 bitcoin, 0.5 bitcoin and at the time of publication, 0.5 bitcoin." - yes, there's a deep cut from 0.5 to 0.5, for sure. We should all rejoice!