Conti is a group that uses multiple cyber attacks to make money. They primarily use social engineering through email and information gathering. They also rely on spear-phishing emails that convince the target that they are receiving relevant information from their company. Conti tends to work with other hacker groups such as Anonymous because they share similar values and goals.
The case
Conti is a group that hopes to make a fortune from various cyber-attacks. And now, an accidental data leak has shown that – unfortunately – there is money in ransomware and other malware. The leak of internal communications from the group revealed that the gang has 65,000 bitcoins in its account, worth $2.2 billion.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is an especially pernicious form of malware (malicious software) that encrypts your data and extorts money in exchange for a key to decrypt it. When a computer gets infected with ransomware, the hacker will often demand that you pay with bitcoins. The hacker does not want the police involved because he doesn’t want evidence of his crime. It’s important to know that even if your computer gets deleted by ransomware, you still have backups on your external hard drive or backup cloud account.
What is malware?
Malware is a general term for software programmed to perform some harmful activity. Malware is often spread through email, the internet, or other electronic means. Some malware can perform malicious functions like automatically installing hidden programs without the user’s knowledge and displaying false advertising on a computer screen.