HelloKitty Ransomware

The HelloKitty Ransomware is a file-encryption Troja that made the news because it was used in an attack against CD Project Red, a game development company behind popular game titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3. The ransom note that the HelloKitty Ransomware left behind for CD Project Red states that the criminals have encrypted their servers and that they have also collected information regarding their administration, legal, accounting departments, as well as additional game-related content. Just like typical ransomware creators, the ones behind this attack also extort the victim for money by threatening to release their data publicly. Last but not least, HelloKitty Ransomware's creators promise to give CD Project Red a decryption tool if they agree to pay a ransom fee.

Unfortunately, CD Project Red is unlikely to be the only victim of the HelloKitty Ransomware, and we are bound to hear more news about companies and individuals struck by this ransomware attack. HelloKitty Ransomware's attack has two easily identifiable properties – it adds the '.crypted' extension to files, and it drops the ransom note 'read_me_unlock.txt.'

Victims of the HelloKitty Ransomware and similar threats should never agree to pay ransom fees because there is no guarantee that the criminals behind the attack will stay true to their word. If you are an average computer user struck by the HelloKitty Ransomware, you should ignore the criminals' demands, and run an anti-malware scanner to terminate the threat. Once the malware is disabled, you can proceed to try out popular data recovery tools.