Microsoft warns of new, self-propagating ransomware

Microsoft has warned its Windows users that a new version of ransomware, called Ransom:Win32/ZCryptor may reproduce itself and spread to other systems through removable media devices.

"This ransomware is one of the few ransomware families that is capable of spreading on its own. It drops a copy of itself in removable drives, making use of USBs a risky practice," Trend Micro researcher Michael Jay Villanueva said in a research note on the ransomware.

ZCryptor installs itself on a system (via a fake Flash installer, malicious email attachment or Microsoft Office macro malware), then starts encrypting files.Furthermore, it also alters the Windows Registry so that the malware runs at startup.

Once the encryption process is complete, ZCryptor reveals its ransom message in which it asks for US $500. So far, there is no way for users to decrypt their files.

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