'Ransomware-as-a-service' discovered on the darknet

New malware 'Tox' lets would-be hackers create their own ransomware at will

Would-be cybercriminals who lack the technological prowess to actually hack into their targets computers themselves can now overcome that hurdle, thanks to a new "ransomware-as-a-service" tool discovered on the darknet by researchers at McAfee.

Branded as "Tox", the tool lets anyone, regardless of technical ability, automatically create ransomware: software which encrypts a victim's hard drive and demands payment before decrypting it.