CryptoLocker ransomware

2013

CryptoLocker became famous for its rapid spread and its powerful asymmetric encryption that was (at the time) uniquely difficult to break.

It also became famous due to something unusual in the malware world: a happy ending. In 2014, the U.S. DoJ and peer agencies overseas managed to take control of the Gameover Zeus botnet and restore the files of CryptoLocker victims free of charge. Unfortunately, CryptoLocker spread via good old-fashioned phishing as well, and variants are still around.