Decrypt Your Files Held for Ransom for Free!

If you have been one of the estimated hundreds of thousands of victims of a ransomware attack, you know how frustrating it can be. Even if you have followed good security practices and backed up your important files, doing that can also take time and increase your heart rate. Now, some researchers at Kaspersky Labs along with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service have managed to acquire a large number of additional encryption keys used by CoinVault and Bitcryptor. The best part is that they will provide them to victims for free!

The best way to avoid the frustration of any type of ransomware in the first place, is to back up your important files regularly. This can be done by saving to an external hard drive of some type, a USB stick, or to the cloud. If you’re old school, even to a DVD will work. Many external hard drives come with software making it incredibly easy to do a complete back up of your computer.  If you use mobile devices, keep those backed up regularly as well. This will allow you to put them back to factory settings and restore from your backup if needed.

In addition, always keep your devices updated with the latest patches and software version updates. This includes those for your anti-malware software. Even if you use a device that is less at risk for acquiring malware, having software to protect against it is wise. You just never know when something is going to come along.

Contrary to the advice given by some FBI special agents, it is NOT a good idea to pay the ransom to any cybercriminal. That will only encourage the behavior. The most prevalent version of ransomware currently making the rounds, CryptoWall v.3 is estimated to have made the authors of that software somewhere around $325 million. Instead, follow the above tips and you can help yourself and not pay a dime, should you become a victim.

Kaspersky has created a ransomware decryption key repository that contains nearly 15,000 decryption keys for various ransomware programs. If you have been a victim and have not managed to get your files back, you can visit their site to see if they have the keys you need at no charge.

Along with the National High Tech Crime Unit of The Netherlands’ police and The Netherlands’ National Prosecutors Lab in a joint effort with Kaspersky, the authors of CoinVault and Bitcryptor ransomware were arrested. All the existing keys for those were added to the repository and are included in the above number.