Ransomware is a type of malware that cryptographically locks the victim's hard drive until the victim pays ransom.It is extremely popular method among cyber criminals. This tactic is so successful that some ransomware makers have started sabotaging others' ransomware in an attempt to stave off competition.
Earlier this week they leaked to Internet 3.500 keys for one item ransomware known as “Chimera”, which supposedly allows Chimera victims to decrypt with better safety τα αρχεία τους, χωρίς να χρειαστεί να καταβάλουν λύτρα σε bitcoins. The decryption keys were apparently released by the makers of the rival ransomware package called "Petya & Mischa", which I claimedthat they violated the Chimera development system, seized the keys and pieces of the code.
Chimera is a particularly nasty type of ransomware that not only locks the victim's hard drive, but threatens to leak their confidential files online if the ransom is not paid. It is still unclear whether the leaked keys will actually work and decrypt the locked machines affected by the malware software, However company security firm Malwarebytes, which first noticed the leak, says it will take some time to check them.
In any case, the developers of Petya & Mischa seem to have shared these keys to "promote" their own ransomware, which is based on the stolen Chimera code now is offered as a service in Tor, to those cyber criminals wanting to earn some bitcoins out of it.
It seems that some kind of undeclared war between the criminals has started. Earlier, ransomware developers said they were outraged by a recent fake ransomware, which displays scary messages but doesn't actually unlock the victim's hard drive when they pay a ransom. The criminals' reasoning is that fake ransomware could make them people to believe that they can't get their files back if real ransomware hits them, jeopardizing future earnings.