February 2019’s most wanted malware: Coinhive quits while still at the top

Check Point Research, the Threat Intelligence arm of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a leading provider of cyber security solutions globally, has published its latest Global Threat Index for February 2019. The index reveals that, despite shutting down on March 8th, 2019, Coinhive has once again led the Global Threat Index, marking the 15th consecutive month at the top of the list.

Check Point researchers have also discovered several widespread campaigns distributing the landgrab ransomware that have targeted Japan, Germany, Canada and Australia, among others. These operations have emerged over the last two months, and Check Point’s researchers noticed a new version of the ransomware is distributed in one of the latest campaigns. The new version, Gandcrab V5.2, includes most of the features of the last, but with a change in the encryption method that renders the decryption tool ineffective.