Beware! Could you be held to ransom?

Mass spamming event targeting UK computer users

Corbel would like to make you aware of a mass email spamming event that is currently ongoing.  The emails seem to be targeting, in particular, small and medium size businesses, with the email content deeming to be from banks or other financial institutions.

The emails carry an attachment that appears to be correspondence linked to the email message (for example, a voicemail, details of a transaction or invoices for payment). This file is in fact a malware that can install “Cryptolocker”, which is a piece of ransomware.

Cryptolocker works by encrypting the user’s files on the infected machine and also the local network it is attached to.

Once encrypted, the computer will display a splash screen with a countdown timer and a demand for the payment of 2 “Bitcoins” in ransom for the decryption key. (2 x Bitcoins is approximately £536 as at 20/11/2013).

The NCA’s (National Crime Agency), Cyber Crime Unit is aware of the spamming event and investigations are currently ongoing to try and identify the source of the email addresses used.
It is important to understand that the NCA would never endorse the payment of a ransom to criminals as there is no guarantee that they would honour the payments.

Anyone who is infected with this malware should report it via Action Fraud

Advice: Prevention is better than cure

Do not click on any such attachment.
Antivirus software should be updated, as should operating systems.
User created files should be backed up routinely and preserved off the network.
If your computer becomes infected it should be disconnected from the network immediately, and professional assistance should be sought to clean the computer.