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That's messed up if true, but why would a ransomware operator target them? I mean like, they don't really target, they just wait for people to install something right?
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/10/amid-an-embarrassment-of...
And once you're doing that, you're going to minimax for hi-value, low-risk targets.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably for initial infection it’s random but the negotiation for keys happens between real people. Thieves must be heartless to go after such desperate targets. But criminals always have ways of justifying things.
>but the negotiation for keys happens between real people I would be surprised if no one has written a smart contract for this yet - release the keys when X BTC are deposited to address Y.
Bad health IT is a public health issue. Perhaps it’s time for hospitals to regularly report their OS versions and patch levels to our local health departments.
My hospital offline for a whole week because they got hit by a ransomware attack, and they use Epic. I asked someone I knew at Epic what she knew about it, and confirmed that my hospital was up-to-date on the latest version of their software and following most of their security protocols. My initial thought was they had weak IT security and now I’m not so sure.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably for initial infection it’s random but the negotiation for keys happens between real people. Thieves must be heartless to go after such desperate targets. But criminals always have ways of justifying things.
>but the negotiation for keys happens between real people I would be surprised if no one has written a smart contract for this yet - release the keys when X BTC are deposited to address Y.
people are talking themselves out of how to use cryptocurrency and smart contracts, its like something Plato would write
That's messed up if true, but why would a ransomware operator target them? I mean like, they don't really target, they just wait for people to install something right?
Ransomware shops don't sit passively by, waiting for someone to install a trojan. Some of them are actually outsourcing the actual penetration, according to Krebs: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/10/amid-an-embarrassment-of... And once you're doing that, you're going to minimax for hi-value, low-risk targets.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>but the negotiation for keys happens between real people I would be surprised if no one has written a smart contract for this yet - release the keys when X BTC are deposited to address Y.
How would the smart contract be able to validate that the 'keys' it releases are authentic before-hand?
The smart contract would just wait for payment and the control server would watch for payments. the victim would still have to trust that this process was in place, but for operator can have it completely automated
doesn't actually have to be a smart contract, just any address essentially. but a smart contract could allow for many more features, not sure if you'd really want that here
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>but the negotiation for keys happens between real people I would be surprised if no one has written a smart contract for this yet - release the keys when X BTC are deposited to address Y.
How would the smart contract be able to validate that the 'keys' it releases are authentic before-hand?
That's messed up if true, but why would a ransomware operator target them? I mean like, they don't really target, they just wait for people to install something right?
Considering the timing it could also be geopolitical unfortunately, people dying from a ransomware attack could substantially raise the general tension level in the US.
Lots of high value malware is actually targeted. Things like running phishing campaigns to try and steal credentials from someone inside the institution.
It's substantially less likely, especially if you don't buy the geopolitics angle, but potentially these criminals even have some unpatched vulnerability in a common deployed piece of software, which would allow them to skip the phishing part entirely.
[0] https://www.zdnet.com/article/first-death-reported-following...
Disclaimer: The company I work for is involved in detecting ransomware as a side business.