Microsoft Squelches Trickbot Ransomware Network | Cybersecurity
By John P. Mello Jr.
Oct 13, 2020 4:17 AM PT
An outlaw online network that’s been used to infect millions of computers with ransomware has been disrupted by Microsoft.
The company announced Monday that, together with telecommunications providers around the world, it was able to cut off the infrastructure used by the Trickbot botnet so it could no longer be used to initiate new infections or activate ransomware already planted on computer systems.
Microsoft Corporate Vice President for Customer Security & Trust Tom Burt noted in a company blog that the United States government and independent experts have cautioned that ransomware is one of the largest threats to the upcoming elections.
“Adversaries can use ransomware to infect a computer system used to maintain voter rolls or report on election-night results, seizing those systems at a prescribed hour optimized to sow chaos and distrust,” Burt wrote.
“In addition to protecting