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Anatova has gained security experts’ attention. Besides being the first new ransomware in 2019, it poses a serious threat. Discover why it is so dangerous and how to protect your business from it.
A new form of ransomware is disguising itself as apps and games to trick people into downloading and launching it on their devices. Since January 1, 2019, cybercriminals have been using this dangerous ransomware, known as Anatova, to hold victims’ files for ransom. It has been found worldwide, with the largest number of victims in the United States.
How Anatova Works and Why It Is So Dangerous
Anatova typically masquerades as the icon of an app or game to trick people into downloading it. During installation, it requests administrative rights. After the ransomware makes sure it is on a legitimate computer, it encrypts the files on the machine. It also encrypts the files on any network shares connected to the device. Once all the files are encrypted, the victim is presented with a ransom note asking for 10 Dash. Dash is a type of cryptocurrency — 10 Dash is worth around $700 [USD] at the time of this writing. Victims are allowed to decrypt one JPG file for free as proof that the files can and will be decrypted if they pay the ransom.
While Anatova sounds like many other ransomware programs, security experts are warning that it is a serious threat. One reason why Anatova is so dangerous is that uses a variety of methods to prevent detection. For example, it uses dynamic calls that have been designed to not raise suspicion. Similarly, it uses techniques to deter analysis, such as memory cleaning functions.
Even more troubling is that cybercriminals can easily add new functionality to Anatova because of its modular architecture. Thus, they can quickly adapt Anatova to make it more effective. For instance, they might add new techniques to evade detection or new spreading mechanisms. The latter is of particular concern. Currently, Anatova has only been found on private peer-to-peer networks, but researchers believe it could be spread other ways in the future.
How to Protect Your Business
To avoid having your business become a victim of Anatova or another ransomware variant, you need to educate employees about ransomware. Topics to cover include:
Besides educating employees, you need to take other measures, including:
We can make sure that your business has covered all the bases so that it will be protected from Anatova and other ransomware variants.