Kaspersky Lab's Global Research and Analysis Team released its threat intelligence report on second quarter malware trends Aug. 8.
In the report, Kaspersky predicted malware disguised as ransomware will continue to pose problems in the third quarter. "In the last quarter we've seen two instances of this, and with the continued release of tools / exploits from dumps like Vault7 and ShadowBrokers, this is going to be a new alarming trend to deal with," according to Kaspersky.
One of the most high-profile examples of this growing trend was the worldwide cyberattack attack — reportedly spread by a ransomware variant called "Petya" — that infected computer systems in more than 60 countries June 27. In a June 28 analysis, Kaspersky determined the malware, which purported to be a ransomware, permanently wiped data from infected devices.
"After an analysis of the encryption routine of the malware used in the Petya/ExPetr attacks, we have thought that the threat actor cannot decrypt victims' disk, even if a payment was made," the researchers concluded.
Click here to view the quarterly report.