Clovis News Journal Online Site Becomes Prey to Cryptowall Virus

The cnjonline.com website of Clovis News Journal, one broadsheet newspaper released on daily basis in Curry County's Clovis of New Mexico had to be temporary closed during 8-9, 2015, when certain virus dangerously hit it, published pntonline.com dated July 9, 2015.

Shawn Luscombe, Clovis News Journal's Creative Services Supervisor stated that the PC-virus namely Cryptowall was first cleared off the website in the morning of July 9, 2015; however, the malware came back so the website had to be re-shutdown as extra precautionary means. Pntonline.com published this.

Luscombe further stated that there was no report from any of the site visitors that their PCs had been contaminated with the Cryptowall, although the destruction's scale was yet to be determined. According to him, solely the CNJ website had become contaminated leaving the remaining websites linked to Clovis Media Inc. unaffected.

Aaron Jones Internet Technology Director of Curry County stated that it was confirmed news that the virus's origination was from the CNJ site. Pntonline.com reported this.

As per Jones, the virus has been around some 2-yrs-or-so. This type of malware keeps evolving as it goes on with its activities. And, while majority of the journal's security software should have identified the malware, therefore he thinks the current virus is some sophisticated variant, Jones explains.

Meanwhile, both Jones and Luscombe state that Cryptowall's way of working is extremely methodical. Its infection occurs after entering end-users' operating systems through fake downloads along with malicious e-mails. Once successfully on the OS, the virus encrypts all data-files inside the infected PC followed with making ransom payment demand for decrypting the same.

Disturbingly, assaults as the aforementioned types have resulted in massive profits for cyber-crooks within an extremely brief time, remark experts.

Supporting this with statistics that Trustwave the security company released in its most recent yearly threat report during June 2015, however, the company states that cyber-criminals can be capable of earning $84,100 (54,400 pounds) as profits from any standard ransomware campaign every month. Specifically, it says any large-scale ransomware scam stretching 30 days could yield as much as $90,000 following a mere $5,900 as investment.

» SPAMfighter News - 7/22/2015