New Anubis ransomware can encrypt and destroy data, making file recovery impossible

WTF?! Being affected by a dangerous ransomware operation is bad enough, but at least you might have a chance to recover your files somehow. A recently discovered ransomware strain is making things even trickier by offering a new wiping option that allows affiliate criminals to completely destroy data after encryption.

Security researchers have discovered a new Ransomware-as-a-Service campaign with highly destructive potential. Anubis has only been around for a few months and fortunately, hasn't claimed many victims thus far. However, the operation could soon become more widespread, and far more difficult to mitigate in terms of data recovery.

Anubis is an emerging RaaS operation designed to combine file encryption with file destruction routines. In addition to encrypting data on Windows systems, the malware features a "wipe mode" that can permanently erase files. Once activated, recovering data from these files becomes literally impossible – even for companies willing to pay the ...