Hello and welcome to malicious life. In the previous episode, we discussed the roots of the ransomware phenomena,

malicious software that prevents the user from accessing the files on their computer,

and demands ransom in order to release those files.

We also discuss the two big challenges cyber criminals face,

devising effective encryption that is hard to crack

and figuring out a monetization strategy that keeps the criminal anonymous and doesn't allow the victim to cancel the payment or get a refund.

In September 2013 a new ransomware was discovered named Cryptolocker.

Cryptolocker would seek out a specific type of files for for example, Excel and Word files, pictures and videos,

encrypt them and then pop up a threatening message on the computer's screen.

Pay $300 or all of your files will be deleted forever.

A timer at the corner of the screen would start counting down 72 hours.

Now, information security experts had already encountered ransomware in the years prior to

crypto locker so the threat it presented to the users wasn't new.

What was new was one of the payment options that the

ransomware offered its victims, Bitcoin. Bitcoin, first created in 2009 is a virtual cryptographic currency.

That means it is a currency that exists only in the virtual world

and is based on encryption algorithms.

Bitcoin has a few fascinating characteristics that differentiate it from traditional

currencies such as the dollar and the euro which are also usable online, but the characteristic most relevant to us is that

Bitcoin, among all other recognizable currencies, is the closest thing to cash.

You'll see now, Chief Visionary Officer at Cyberism explains.

The concept of privacy and the concept of anonymity in the internet is, I think, a very fundamental thing for all of people you know from the old school

...