Oliver Haslam·

PUBG Ransomware Locks And Encrypts Your PC, Asks You To Play The Game To Get Back The Access

When it comes to Windows PC security there are few more terrifying failures than those which result in a ransomware infestation. These can come via a number of different attack vectors but they all tend to result in the same thing – a user’s files are encrypted to the point of essentially being unbreakable with the only course of action being to pay a few hundred dollars to the attacker.

This also often incorporates Bitcoin somewhere along the way in order to preserve the attacker’s anonymity, but the result is always the same with users being out of pocket in order to get access to their files.

Except there’s a new type of ransomware in town, and all it wants is to get people playing PUBG. As amazing as that might sound, it’s actually true.

Originally reported by BleepingComputer and the so-called PUBG Ransomware was first discovered by MalwareHunterTeam and initially works just as other ransomware attacks would with devices having their files encrypted.

However, the method of decrypting the files is different with users being presented with two options. They can either play PUBG for 3 seconds, a game that can be bought for $30 online, or simply enter an unlock code that is helpfully displayed on-screen.

At this point it is fairly clear that the attacker simply wants people to play the game, but they do at least offer a way out for those who don’t want to or can’t for whatever reason. Effectively, there’s no real hardship for those impacted but that doesn’t make this any better in our eyes. While the attack may just be a bit of fun to some, we do wonder whether the attacker may escalate further now they know their attack works.

Let’s hope that isn’t the case.

(Via: BleepingComputer, Source: @MalwareHunterTeam [Twitter])

You may also like to check out:

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.