- Jan 24, 2011
- 9,379
Earlier this week, when the author behind the crypto-ransomware Locker apologized and released decryption keys for his victims, it seemed like a change of heart, uncharacteristic for an attacker. Now another ransomware creator has also decided to cut his losses and get out of the game – but not before trying to make a buck.
The developer behind Tox, a ransomware-as-a-service tool that only surfaced late last month, acknowledged in a post on Pastebin Wednesday that despite his plan to stay “quiet and hidden,” he’s quickly found himself over his head. Now the malware author is looking to sell Tox but claims if no one buys it he’ll just release the keys and decrypt his victim’s files.
It’s a quick about-face for the developer, who claims he released the malware by spreading links around the “deep web” just two weeks ago. Tox caught on quickly however – quicker than the author expected.
The malware went on to tally 1,000+ users and 1,000+ infections, with more than two hundred polling viruses each half hour, according to the author, who refers to himself as Tox.
“The number of the users started growing. From 20 to 50, from 50 to 100, it was doubling every day,” according to his post, “Plan A was to stay quiet and hidden. Well, I think I screwed up.”
Now, claiming the situation got too hot for him to handle, the author is looking to get out of the business.
Tox is encouraging prospective buyers to contact him to purchase both source code and documentation for the ransomware, adding that he’ll entertain offers for the platform and virus together, or as a package deal, alongside an additional database and .onion private key.
Read more at: https://threatpost.com/author-behind-ransomware-tox-calls-it-quits-sells-platform/113151
The developer behind Tox, a ransomware-as-a-service tool that only surfaced late last month, acknowledged in a post on Pastebin Wednesday that despite his plan to stay “quiet and hidden,” he’s quickly found himself over his head. Now the malware author is looking to sell Tox but claims if no one buys it he’ll just release the keys and decrypt his victim’s files.
It’s a quick about-face for the developer, who claims he released the malware by spreading links around the “deep web” just two weeks ago. Tox caught on quickly however – quicker than the author expected.
The malware went on to tally 1,000+ users and 1,000+ infections, with more than two hundred polling viruses each half hour, according to the author, who refers to himself as Tox.
“The number of the users started growing. From 20 to 50, from 50 to 100, it was doubling every day,” according to his post, “Plan A was to stay quiet and hidden. Well, I think I screwed up.”
Now, claiming the situation got too hot for him to handle, the author is looking to get out of the business.
Tox is encouraging prospective buyers to contact him to purchase both source code and documentation for the ransomware, adding that he’ll entertain offers for the platform and virus together, or as a package deal, alongside an additional database and .onion private key.
Read more at: https://threatpost.com/author-behind-ransomware-tox-calls-it-quits-sells-platform/113151
![[correlate]](/data/avatars/s/79/79653.jpg?1556985072){kind=avatar}
