Exploring the Psychological Mechanisms used in Ransomware Splash Screens

The present study examined a selection of 76 ransomware splash screens collected from a variety of sources. These splash screens were analysed according to surface information, including aspects of visual appearance, the use of language, cultural icons, payment and payment types. The results from the current study showed that, whilst there was a wide variation in the construction of ransomware splash screens, there was a good degree of commonality, particularly in terms of the structure and use of key aspects of social engineering used to elicit payment from the victims. There was the emergence of a sub-set of ransomware that, in the context of this report, was termed ‘Cuckoo’ ransomware. This type of attack often purported to be from an official source requesting payment for alleged transgressions.