“Would you like to play a game?” Nope, not this game.
A new ransomware named Jigsaw, inspired by the eponymous character in the Saw horror film franchise, subjects its victims to a countdown clock, deleting files every hour at an escalating rate until a $150 ransom is paid. According to a Bleeping Computer security alert, it's the first time a ransomware has followed through on its threat to not only encrypt, but actually erase content.
The ransomware, whose threat note features an image of the Jigsaw killer's mask, is booby trapped to delete a thousand files at once from a computer if the user attempts to reboot or terminate the process.
Fortunately, there is an escape for Jigsaw's victims: a collective of researchers, including Bleeping Computerowner Lawrence Abrams, researcher Michael Gillespie and the MalwareHunterTeam found a way to neutralize the ransomware with a decryptor program.
