A student pirating software led to a full-blown Ryuk ransomware attack
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A student's attempt to pirate an expensive data visualization software led to a full-blown Ryuk ransomware attack at a European biomolecular research institute.
BleepingComputer has long warned against software cracks, not only because they are illegal but because they are a common source of malware infections.
Threat actors commonly create fake software crack download sites, YouTube videos, and torrents to distribute malware, as shown below.
Fake crack site distributing ransomware
In the past, we have seen crack sites distribute ransomware, such as STOP and the Exorcist ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, and information-stealing trojans.