Holding Computer Files Hostage For Ransom

[From article]
This is a criminal operation. They are holding your folders and files ransom. We call this ransomware because that is exactly what it is. You need to pay in order to have access to them once again.”
And that is exactly what happened last month at the Swansea Police Department.
Cryptolocker ransomware took over the department’s entire computer system and the police were forced to pay a $750 ransom to get back control.
As the ransomware takes over your computer, a countdown clock appears and shows victims how long they have to pay up. That means purchasing a key, or software, to reverse the process. And victims must do that using the online virtual currency known as bitcoins.
“Once you have purchased a bitcoin, then the transaction that you use that bitcoin in is encrypted, and therefore you cannot trace it,” explained Goodchild.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/12/18/cryptolocker-ransomware-being-described-as-the-perfect-crime/

Cryptolocker Ransomware Being Described As ‘The Perfect Crime’
By Chief Correspondent Joe Shortsleeve

WBZ-TV Boston MA
December 18, 2013 5:34 PM