Euro cops, Intel and Kaspersky slay Shade ransomware

A joint operation by Europol, the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit, Intel, and Kaspersky has seized the command and control servers for the Shade ransomware strain and published code that allows anyone hit by the malware to decrypt their files.

Shade has been in circulation since 2014, and has predominantly targeted European computer users. Once downloaded via an email attachment or unpatched browser, the malware encrypts the computer’s files using a 256-bit AES (advanced encryption standard) key, and a second to encrypt the file names themselves.