Ransomware-as-a-service surfaced earlier this year as it was found that purchasing malware to deploy on targets was an increasingly more viable option as it was cheaper and required less skill. With ransomware now an item that is easily accessible, the ability for programmers to now create super viruses became a powerful opportunity. With that being said, analysts at McAfee found the Kraken. This malware uses an exploit kit to help it score fresh victims, and unfortunately, that combination may prove challenging to defend against.
The Kraken first surfaced this summer on a top Russian language forum and is now being licensed out by an individual who goes by the name, “ThisWasKraken”. The virus has proven to be effective as it typically gets past anti-virus software without detection. As it’s the developer’s goal to get more wannabe hackers to purchase and deploy the virus on fresh victims, the primary target for Kraken is computers running Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 but Kraken can quickly encrypt all files without regard for the size of any file, according to analysts.
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