[2016-04-12] ToI: Hackers borrow customer-service tactics to earn money

[polynesia]

Hackers borrow customer-service tactics to earn money

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Hackers-borrow-customer-service-tactics-to-earn-money/articleshow/51795333.cms

When hackers set out to extort the town of Tewksbury, Massachusetts with "ransomware," they followed up with an FAQ explaining the attack and easy instructions for online payment.

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"It's a perfect business model, as long as you overlook the fact that they are doing something awful," said James Trombly, president of Delphi Technology Solutions, a Lawrence, Massachusetts, computer services firm that helped three clients over the past year pay ransoms in bitcoin, the virtual currency. He declined to identify the clients.

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Run-of-the-mill ransomware attacks typically seek 1 Bitcoin, now worth about $420, which is about the same as the hourly rate that some security consultants charge to respond to such incidents, according to security firms who investigate ransomware cases.