
Ransomware is an unfortunate reality of digital era. Nitro Ransomware has a new trick up its sleeve. Rather than asking victims to pay the ransom with cryptocurrency, it asks for a Discord gift card.
Discord is a free chat platform, and you’re right. Casual Discord users might not even know that there is a paid version of the service. For $9.99 per month, you can get Discord Nitro, which includes perks such as HD video streaming, more emoji, and larger file uploads. When buying Nitro, you can choose to apply it to your account or get a gift link. That’s what the latest ransomware is after.
The malware reportedly makes its way onto systems by pretending to be a tool that allows the user to generate free Nitro gift codes.Anyone who installs it will get very much the opposite of what they wanted. Nitro Ransomware sets up shop and encrypts the documents folder, appending a .givemenitro extension to the scrambled files. It also changes the user’s wallpaper to an angry Discord logo before popping up the demand for payment.
Victims of the ransomware are given three hours in which to buy a Nitro code and enter it in the box. When a valid code is added, the malware decrypts the files with an embedded key. That key is stored inside the EXE, making it possible to salvage your files without paying the price it’s not the most sophisticated malware in the world.