CryptoLocker-style ransomware booms 700 PER CENT this year

By John Leyden, 12 Sep 2014
 
CryptoLocker-style ransomware is eight times more common now than in January, going a long way towards overtaking fake police warning ransomware scams, according to Symantec.
The disruption of the GameOver Zeus banking trojan botnet back in late May took away one of the main distribution methods for CryptoLocker itself.
 Security firms have since developed a service that allows victims to recover files scrambled by CryptoLocker without caving in to the demands of extortionists.
About 545,000 computers worldwide, around half of those being in the US, have been infected with CryptoLocker between September 2013 and May 2014. Victims have been defrauded to the tune of $27m (£16m) as a result of the malware, according to FBI estimates from June.
 
The Register/ full article here/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/12/file_scrambling_ransomware_plague/