Who doesn’t love a good scary problem that has a “-gate” suffix? An Israeli security firm has dubbed a particularly nasty outbreak of ransomware “ImageGate” and that will help us all remember that if you receive a random image on your favorite social network, you probably shouldn’t click it.
“Locky” ransomware was first discovered earlier this year. As the name implies, it locks up a victim’s computer by encrypting their files and demanding a ransom of .5 bitcoins (about $365) in exchange for a key. Earlier this week, Hacker News reported that a Facebook spam campaign was spreading Locky through image files in the SVG format. At the time, Facebook denied that this was happening. Now, security firm Check Point says that Locky is being embedded into several graphic formats and spread through “social media applications such as Facebook and LinkedIn.” The firm has put together a helpful video with a laughably ominous soundtrack for you…[READ MORE]