Student saves ransom ware victims $27K

Student saves ransom ware victims $27K by finding bug in the ransom payment software.

Stanford University student and security expert Jack Cable helped a family friend trick the ransom ware payment system into unlocking the files with just a typo.  Jack discovered that by changing one letter in the transaction ID, the system mistook the input from someone who had already paid—and unlocked the files.  Jack helped a number of other victims avoid payment—until the hackers got wise and fixed their bug.  The new strain of ransomware, called QLocker, has been targeting network systems produced by QNAP from Taiwan.  The company is working on a fix to remove the malware from systems.

https://www.cyberscoop.com/jack-cable-qlocker-ransomware-recovery/