As if ransomware weren’t bad enough, now it’s metastasising: not just spreading rapidly but even picking up secondary characteristics. Take Cerber, ransomware first spotted in the wild back in February 2016.

At the time, Cerber was best known for being somewhat spooky — instead of merely flashing an ominous message at victims, Cerber delivered its ransom “note” verbally as well. Still, it was a standard modus operandi: Give us money and we’ll give you back your files. Now, Cerber and other Trojans encrypt the data of their victims, and most computer users haven’t a clue how to handle it. Sounds like a great diversionary tactic, doesn’t it?