A new malware, a form of ransomware, has emerged that doesn’t try to wring money out of its victims. Instead, it just wants you to play PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds for some reason. This story, from BleepingComputer, tells us a group called MalwareHunterTeam discovered this software. If you aren’t familiar with ransomware, it renders a computer’s files inaccessible until the user meets the software’s demands or if more intensive actions are taken depending on the skill and knowledge of said user. It has been an extremely profitable venture for hackers, with millions of dollars reported by the FBI as extorted via ransomware.
The PUBG ransomware is harmless in comparison. It tells the user, “Don’t worry!” and asks them to just play an hour of the game to get their computer back. In reality, the software unlocks after it detects closer to three minutes of PUBG time, and then you’re off the hook. Alternatively, it will just let you off the hook anyway, and provide you with an unlock code if you wait.
Current speculation from experts, per Kotaku, is that it’s just a bad joke.
Source: Kotaku