In the beginning of September, a sizeable spam campaign was detected distributing a new Locky variant. Locky is a notorious ransomware that was first detected in the early months of 2016 and has continued to evolve and spread through different methods, particularly spam mail. A thorough look at samples from recent campaigns shows that cybercriminals are using sophisticated distribution methods, affecting users in more than 70 countries.

In the specific campaigns discussed below, both Locky and the ransomware FakeGlobe were being distributed—but the two were rotated. The cybercriminals behind the campaign designed it so that clicking on a link from the spam email might deliver Locky one hour, and then FakeGlobe the next. This makes re-infection a distinct possibility, as victims infected with one ransomware are still vulnerable to the next one in the rotation.