Ransomware scum infect cancer non-profit

Ransomware scum have hit a new low by infecting a not-for-profit cancer support organization in Muncie, Indiana, US.

Little Red Door provides diagnostics, treatment, and supplies to under-served patients, among other services. It told told the Associated Press this week that miscreants infected its central server, stripped and encrypted data, and demanded a steep 50 Bitcoin (US$44,000) payment.

Executive director Aimee Fant says the lion's share of the agency's data was located in unspecified cloud storage. She says the agency will be forced to take the hit and not pay the ransom since its funds are supposed to help cancer patients and their families.

The agency plans to replace the affected server with a "secure cloud-based" system and hopes to be back up and running by the week's end. It did not ask for volunteer assistance.

The attack was reported to the FBI.

Many ransomware variants have been undone by white hat hackers working under the No More Ransom Alliance to find and exploit holes in the malware that allows free file decryption.

The effort unifies a formerly scattered and silo-ed, but furious effort by malware researchers to waste the exploding number of ransomware forms hitting end users and enterprises. ®