'No More Ransom': Ransomware Problems May Now Be Solved For Free

Ever had your data scrambled and you need to pay large sum of money to unscramble it again? Ransomwares are the new type of disruptive program that requires you to pay to unscramble your files. For now, the only option is to pay, but the Europol (Europe's police agency) and cybersecurity companies are teaming up to create the "No More Ransom" site to help users who are affected with Ransomware.

Ransomware is one of the fastest growing malware--with the number of victims tripling in just the first three months of 2016. 

The initiative will be a cooperation among Europol, the Dutch national police, Intel Security and Kaspersky Labs. The site will connect the police and the victims and will disperse advice and help with data recovery.

Europe has been a long concern of the EU law enforcement, according to Wil van Gemert, Europol's deputy director of operations. "We expect to help many people to recover control over their files, while raising awareness and educating the population on how to maintain their devices clean from malware." 

No More Ransom is a site dedicated to disseminate information about ransomware, ways on how to avoid becoming a victim and what to do when your hardware is infected. The websitw will also help users by letting users upload scrambled sites and identify the kind of ransomware is blocking you from accessing your data.

"We're seeing a rise in new families of ransomware coming up all the time," said Raj Samani, European head of Intel Security. 

Just in June, 120 different families of malicious ransomware codes used in different campaigns have been logged in one site that tracks the malware. And it's not just consumers who are paying the price, small companies are getting hit by the ransomware as well.

"It's becoming a hugely profitable economy for the criminals," said Mr Samani. "They know there's real money to be made here.

"What's particularly telling is that historically ransomware victims have been consumers and small businesses," he said. "But we are now seeing bigger institutions, hospitals and universities, getting hit."

Information from international action against gangs running ransomware campaigns will added to the site according to Mr. Samani.

Currently, the site has links to decryption software that can combat against four well-known ransomware families: Coinvault, Shade, Rannoh and Rakhni.