This is the most diabolical Android ransomware we've ever seen

Consider this yet another PSA on why you should never ever download Adobe Flash Player, or anything resembling it if you're using an Android phone.

Security researchers at ESET have discovered a new kind of ransomware infecting Android phones on a level nobody's ever seen before. Called DoubleLocker, the exploit encrypts the data on the infected device and then changes its PIN number so victims are locked out of their device unless they pay the ransom demanded by hackers.

The DoubleLocker hack is a threat to any Android device; it's particularly worrying since it doesn't require a "rooted" phone that gives extra access for the hacker to run its own code, but the effect is severe — locking the user completely out of their own device. Read more...