Currently, as the widespread use of virtual monetary units (like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin) has begun, people with bad intentions have been attracted to this area and have produced and marketed ransomware to obtain virtual currency easily. This ransomware infiltrates the victim’s system with smartly-designed methods and encrypts the files found in the system. After the encryption process, the attacker leaves a message demanding a ransom in virtual currency to open access to the encrypted files and warns that otherwise the files will not be accessible. This type of ransomware is becoming more popular over time, so currently, it is the largest information technology security threat. In the literature, there are many studies about the detection and analysis of this cyber-bullying. In this study, we focused on crypto-ransomware and investigated a forensic analysis of a current attack example in detail. In this example, the attack method and behavior of the crypto-ransomware were analyzed and it was identified that information belonging to the attacker was accessible. With this dimension, we think our study will significantly contribute to the struggle against this threat.

Crypto-ransomware, forensic analysis, virtual currency, information technology security, cyber-bullying.