Cyber extortion demands surge as victims keep paying: Symantec

Hong Kong police have struggled to deal with digital pump-and-dump schemes targeting brokerages – a little-known type of computer-generated fraud that surged in the Chinese territory last year. — Reuters

TORONTO: Hackers are demanding increasingly hefty ransoms to free computers paralysed with viruses, as cyber criminals seek to maximize profits from large numbers of victims willing to pay up, according to cyber security firm Symantec Corp.

The average demand embedded in such malicious software, which is known as ransomware, more than tripled last year to US$1,077 (RM4,679.56) from US$294 (RM1,277.43), and the pricing has continued to rise in 2017, according to Symantec.