Ransomware Adds DDoS Capabilities to Annoy Other People, Not Just You

An anonymous reader writes: Ransomware developers have found another method of monetizing their operations by adding a DDoS component to their malicious payloads. So instead of just encrypting your files and locking your screen, new ransomware versions seen this week also started adding a DDoS bot that quietly blasts spoofed network traffic at various IPs on the Internet.

Despite its malicious intentions, you have to admire the crooks behind this new trend, who found a way to financially exploit ransomware victims that don't end up paying the ransom in the end. Renting out DDoS botnets on the Dark Web is a very lucrative business, even if prices have gone down in recent years.