Share Ransomware, Get Your Stuff Unlocked

It’s a familiar pitch with a new twist: Share the product, get a discount. In this case, share the ransomware, get your data unlocked for free.

Popcorn Time encrypts files like most ransomware but it also offers the victim the choice to either pay cash (one bitcoin) or to spread the link, reports the Guardian. But like any other share-deal, it’s not enough to just send out the link: Two people have to pay up.

Popcorn Time appears to be under development still, according to MalwareHunterTeam, the security researchers who discovered it. The Guardian reports the code also has references to another feature that would delete files if a victim enters an incorrect key too many times.

“It is still not perfect, but it’s getting better. Infect more to get free key is already unique thing. This system is something you not see every day,” the researchers told Wired.