Game Over for GandCrab: New free decryption tool allows victims tounlock all versions of this ransomware

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

https://www.zdnet.com/article/game-over-for-gandcrab-new-free-decryption-tool-allows-victims-to-unlock-all-versions-of-this-ransomware/

By Danny Palmer
ZDNet News
June 17, 2019

A new decryption tool that counters one of the most prolific families of 
ransomware by allowing victims to retrieve their files for free has been 
released in a collaborative effort by Europol, the FBI, cybersecurity company 
Bitdefender, and others.

The latest version of the GandCrab decryptor neutralises the most recent 
incarnations of the file-locking malware – GandCrab 5.0 through to GandCrab 5.2 
– as well as allowing users to retrieve files encrypted by older versions of 
the ransomware.

It's thought that over 1.5 million Windows users have been infected with 
GandCrab since it first emerged in January 2018, with both home and business 
networks falling victim to attacks by what Europol describes as "one of the 
most aggressive forms of ransomware".

The cyber criminals behind GandCrab claim that the ransomware has extorted over 
$2 billion from victims who've given in and paid to receive the decryption key 
to get their files back – although researchers say the figure is likely an 
exaggeration.

[...]

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