Cyber criminals are taking advantage of the recent attention garnered by Cryptolocker to spread their own malware.
Researchers at security firm BullGuard have discovered a phishing ruse that offers users decryption keys aimed at remedying issues involving the ransomware, which in reality could dupe them into downloading a “tool” that is actually malware, according to a blog post by malware researcher Raluca Stanciu.
Once a user downloads the tool, a registry cleaner uploaded onto the computer falsely claims that the PC has registry problems. To solve these issues, the tool triggers a message that insists on the user to buy a product that is offered by the scammers behind the campaign.
The infamous ransomware has recently made headlines following an international crackdown on individuals who helped distribute it as well as the Gameover Zeus trojan.