Gamers come in all ages and from all walks of life; they may or may not have files they feel are irreplaceable enough as to be tempted to pay a ransom to get those files decrypted. But what if it was your saved games and your Steam account that was encrypted and held for ransom?

That’s exactly what the crypto-ransomware is doing: in fact it targets over 50 file extensions related to video games including Steam, single and multiplayer games, and even game development software. Although the ransom window which announces “your personal files are encrypted” may look like CryptoLocker, don’t be fooled. 

From late 2013 through the first half of 2014, CryptoLocker malware was a major concern for many businesses and individuals. The FBI was able to successfully disrupt CryptoLocker, along with Game Over Zeus, but according to the figures in their legal complaint against Evgeniy Bogachev, not before his malware had encrypted a lot of computers.

The second major Crypto Malware was CryptoWall. In Malcovery's 3rd Quarter malware report, there were documented 24 separate spam campaigns that resulted in CryptoWall infections. Today we may have seen the beginning of the Next Wave of Crypto Malware being delivered by spam.