title: Castel Sant'Angelo

text: Leo X built a chapel with a "Madonna" by Raffaello da Montelupo. In 1536, Montelupo also created a marble statue of Saint Michael holding his sword after the 590 plague (as described above) to surmount the Castel. Later Paul III built a rich apartment, to ensure that in any future siege the pope had an appropriate place to stay.


title: Castel Sant'Angelo

text: Montelupo's statue was replaced by a bronze statue of the same subject, executed by the Flemish sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, in 1753. Verschaffelt's is still in place and Montelupo's can be seen in an open court in the interior of the Castle.


title: Castel Sant'Angelo

text: The Papal state also used Sant'Angelo as a prison; Giordano Bruno, for example, was imprisoned there for six years. Other prisoners were the sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini and the magician and charlatan Cagliostro. Executions were performed in the small inner courtyard. As a prison, it was also the setting for the third act of Giacomo Puccini's 1900 opera "Tosca"; the eponymous heroine leaps to her death from the Castel's ramparts.


title: Castel Sant'Angelo

text: Decommissioned in 1901, the castle is now a museum: the "Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo". It received 1,234,443 visitors in 2016.


title: Triquetra

text: The triquetra ( ; from the Latin adjective "triquetrus" "three-cornered") is a triangular figure composed of three interlaced arcs, or (equivalently) three overlapping "vesicae piscis" lens shapes. It is used as an ornamental design in architecture, and in medieval manuscript illumination (particularly in the Insular tradition). Its depiction as interlaced is common in Insular ornaments from about the 7th century. In this interpretation, the triquetra represents the topologically simplest possible knot.


title: Triquetra

text: The term "triquetra" in archaeology is used of any figure consisting of three arcs, including a pinwheel design of the type of the triskeles. Such symbols become frequent from about the 4th century BC ornamented ceramics of Anatolia and Persia, and it appears on early Lycian coins.


title: Triquetra

text: The triquetra is found on runestones in Northern Europe, such as the Funbo Runestones, and on early Germanic coins. It bears a resemblance to the "valknut", a design of three interlacing triangles, found in the same context.


title: Triquetra

text: The triquetra is often found in insular art, most notably metal work and in illuminated manuscripts like the "Book of Kells". It is a "minor though recurring theme" in the secondary phase of Anglo-Saxon sceatta production (c. 710–760). It is found in similar artwork on early Christian High Crosses and slabs. An example from early medieval stonework is the Anglo-Saxon frith stool at Hexham Abbey.


title: Triquetra

text: The symbol has been interpreted as representing the Christian Trinity, especially since the Celtic revival of the 19th century. The original intention by the early medieval artists is unknown and experts warn against over-interpretation. It is, however, regularly used as a Trinitarian symbol in contemporary Christian iconography.


title: Triquetra

text: The triquetra has been a known symbol in Japan called "Musubi Mitsugashiwa". Being one of the forms of the Aryan Iakšaku dynasty signs, it reached Japan with the dynasty's Kāśyapīya spreading technology and Buddhism via Kingdom of Khotan, China and Korea.


title: Triquetra

text: The triquetra is often used artistically as a design element when Celtic knotwork is used, especially in association with the modern Celtic Nations. The triquetra, also known as a "trinity knot", is often found as a design element is popular Irish jewelry such as claddaghs and other wedding or engagement rings.


title: Triquetra

text: Celtic pagans or neopagans who are not of a Celtic cultural orientation, may use the triquetra to symbolise a variety of concepts and mythological figures. Due to its presence in insular Celtic art, Celtic Reconstructionists use the triquetra either to represent one of the various triplicities in their cosmology and theology (such as the tripartite division of the world into the realms of Land, Sea and Sky), or as a symbol of one of the specific Celtic triple goddesses, for example the battle goddess, The Morrígan. The symbol is also sometimes used by Wiccans and some New Agers to symbolise the Triple Goddess, or as a protective symbol.


title: Triquetra

text: In the 1998-2006 American fantasy drama "Charmed", that ran on the now defunct The WB network, the triquetra was prominently used as a symbol on the Halliwell's "Book of Shadows", the book of spells, potions, and other information the sisters used to fight evil. The triquetra was also used as a symbol of Charmed Ones and their collective Power of Three. The triquetra would be seen to fracture and pull apart on the "Book of Shadows" when their bond was temporarily broken by a demon. It was also featured prominently in the opening credits of each episode throughout its eight season run. The symbol was also used in the 2018 reboot that ran on The CW.


title: Triquetra

text: In the TV series "The Walking Dead" (2010), Michonne's katana features a triquetra, chosen for its meaning as a "triple goddess symbol".


title: Triquetra

text: In the German Netflix series "Dark" (2017), it symbolizes the caves' closed time loops with each loop being 33 years apart, with the past affecting the future and the future influencing the past. The Triquetra is of significant symbolic value to the time travelers. This symbol can be seen on the Cave's metal door, on the Emerald Tablet, in The Stranger's papers, and in the Sic Mundus photo.


title: Triquetra

text: Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, dons the Triquetra on its surface in the 2011 film "Thor". After speaks the words, "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor,” to Mjölnir, the Triquetra vanishes. It represents Asgard, Midgard, and Utgard.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: FPJ's Ang Probinsyano (lit. "FPJ's The Provincial Man"; abbreviated as FPJAP and internationally known as Brothers) is a 2015 Philippine action drama television series under ABS-CBN Entertainment replacing "Nathaniel". Based on the 1997 film of the same title starring Fernando Poe Jr., the series stars a large ensemble cast that is top-billed by Coco Martin. First aired on September 28, 2015, it became the longest-running drama series on Philippine television (excluding drama anthologies such as "Lovingly Yours, Helen", "Maalaala Mo Kaya", "Maynila" and "Magpakailanman"), with 1,696 episodes aired until the series finale on August 12, 2022. It was replaced by "Darna" on its timeslot.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: "Ang Probinsyano" premiered in ABS-CBN where it aired until 2020, when broadcast of the network was halted due to its non-renewal of its franchise. New episodes has since aired in the Kapamilya Channel, a pay network set up by ABS-CBN Corporation with simulcast on the broadcaster's other networks Cine Mo! and Jeepney TV. A2Z and TV5 has also received rights to broadcast "Ang Probinsyano" through the partnership of the networks' firms with ABS-CBN Corporation. The series is also streamed online via iWantTFC, TFC IPTV and Kapamilya Online Live. It is also aired internationally through The Filipino Channel on cable and satellite.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: "Ang Probinsyano" has five narrative arcs or "books" consisting of 9 seasons throughout its telecast.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The first book (Syndicate Arc) ran from 2015 through 2017 spanning the first and second seasons and focused on the various cases Cardo encountered as a member of the CIDG, both related and unrelated to its main arc.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The second book (Rebellion and Terrorism Arc) contains the third and fourth seasons of the series and focused on Cardo's encounters with the ""Pulang Araw"" () both as a member of Special Action Force and undercover under the "nom de guerre" ""Agila"" (), and later as part of the vigilante and far left guerilla group ""Vendetta"".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The third book (Political Arc) covers the series' fifth and sixth seasons and focuses on the larger political drama in the Philippines.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The fourth book (Crime and Corruption Arc), on the other hand, opened with the series' seventh season and chronicles Cardo's return to the police force and his continued efforts to fight crime and corruption in the country. This is followed by the show's eight season which sees Lily moving to consolidate her power as both the first lady of the Republic and leader of an international drug cartel in the Philippines.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The fifth and concluding book (International Arc) follows the Task Force Agila traveling to north in search for a new hiding place after killing the drug lord Enrique Vera, having avenged the murder of Audrey, the sister of P/Cpt. Lia Mante and daughter of Fernando Mante, in ninth season. The Mante family leaves the country for their safety. Arriving at the north, they successfully rent a place to stay while their enemies are still roaming around to find them. After long struggle in fighting and separation, the members of Task Force Agila are reencounter each other including Oscar Hidalgo, Aurora, Ambo and Elizabeth. With the help of Senate President Camilo Edades, who appointed as an "acting President" by Lily (after she detonates the fake Oscar Hidalgo named Mariano), both Oscar and Camilo are helping each other to expose Lily and Renato's true identity and their abominable crimes and corruptions to the people of the Philippines, many Filipinos are gathering a mass protest outside the Palace against Lily, Arturo and Renato. The Armed Forces of the Philippines, Presidential Security Group and the Philippine National Police stormed down the Palace to set up a blockage preventing Lily from escaping, however she managed to escape alongside the corrupt PSG and Black Ops members who are remained loyal to her and was sent to a safe manor that has been built for long time ago serving as last resort from their enemies, but was later overthrown and executed by Task Force Agila. Even they are succeeded on the operation, their fight is not done yet. Their final enemy Renato Hipolito is hiding on the jungle and he must either captured or killed. As they advance deeper in their territory, they were ambushed and captured by consolidated group of Hipolito and the notorious warlord Lucio Santanar. Many of the Task Force Agila members were brutally tortured and killed, and Cardo was captured again, Renato is about to kill Cardo however Oscar appears and, avenging Task Force Agila, finished off Hipolito and his men to death before the back up arrives, ending his wickedness and greed forever. With the final defeat and deaths of Renato, Arturo, Lily and their subordinates, the reign of violence, greed, corruption, injustice, and anarchy has ended. After an hour of battle, they declared the operation as Pyrrhic victory, many of their comrades died however their sacrifices they made for the country will not be in vain although they emancipate it from the rule of despots and murderers like the likes of Renato, Arturo, and Lily. Eventually, Cardo gets promoted to Police Major by Oscar for his bravery. After reuniting with his family and mourning the death of his grandmother, he decides to stay with them in Botolan. Oscar later marries his first love, Aurora. Unknown to the two of them, while Cardo was off to work, he suddenly spots their daughter Mara who is alive. The two of them smiled and greeted one another, hinting a start of a relationship between them.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Hot off the heels of Martin's portrayal of PS/Insp. Garry Eraña on the ""Plano"" episode of "Maalaala Mo Kaya" which served as a tribute to the SAF 44, ABS-CBN President and CEO Charo Santos-Concio floated the idea of creating of an action drama series that particularly aims to give importance to the police force in an effort to help them "regain the love and respect of the people". Coco Martin, who would be later named as the series' lead actor, was involved in the production shoot for the series, proposed that the production team create a television adaptation of Fernando Poe Jr.'s film "Ang Probinsyano". When asked why Martin chose to adapt "Ang Probinsyano", he explained that he and his grandmother enjoyed watching films of the action star growing up. The widow of Fernando Poe Jr., Susan Roces reportedly gave her blessing to the production team to adopt her late spouse's film.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: "Ang Probinsyano" is not a remake of the 1997 film of the same name. It was made to be run for months to be more suitable for teleserye viewers.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The title of the original film was inspired by the term "pulis patola" which is occasionally used to tease newbie police officers. Since "patola", or cucumber of the genus "Luffa", is usually grown in the provinces outside urban areas such as Manila, the film was given the title "Ang Probinsyano".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: A special tribute screening of the film was held on 20 August 2015, in celebration of FPJ's 76th birthday and ahead of the premiere of the TV adaptation. The screening was attended by the cast of the series Coco Martin, Susan Roces, Maja Salvador, Bela Padilla, Beverly Salviejo and Jaime Fàbregas who also served as the film's musical director.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Throughout the series' existence, there are numerous themes that centers on the protagonists; will to fight and take risks against the antagonists even in the unlikely scenario in which attempting any deadly mission could end with no one alive, such as family relationships, bravery and fortitude, unconditional love, self-sacrifice, vengeance, and fighting for justice. The series also depicts worsening issues seen om the TV series itself that is based on the ongoing social problems across the country on both the national and regional level, such as drug trafficking, policial corruption, prostitution, human trafficking, worsening poverty, organized crime, and criminality, also transitioning to socio-political issues like governmental corruption, nepotism, business corruption, social injustice, human rights abuses, political murders, bureaucratic corruption, terrorism, usurping elite rule, fascism, and warlordism.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Countering against the above-listed issues, Ang Probinsyano depicts the opposition of the system, guerilla warfare, class struggle, democracy, and the fight and resistance to the decaying and oppressive joint dictatorship of the oligarchy and the aristocracy.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The adaptation of the series was announced during a press conference on 18 May 2015. The event was attended by ABS-CBN President and CEO Charo Santos-Concio and series cast Coco Martin, Susan Roces, Albert Martinez, Angeline Quinto and Bela Padilla.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: To prepare for the role, Martin and other cast members had to undergo police training, Martin likewise attended PNP flag raising ceremonies to immerse himself in the role. Martin also had to learn various martial arts and proper weapons handling. Most his stunts were performed by Martin himself. Martin also serves as the show's creative consultant, later becoming one of the show's directors.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: For the role of leading lady, singer-actress Angeline Quinto was supposedly part of the main cast to play the role of Lily, an original character yet different role. Due to her conflicting schedules, however, she was later pulled out from the cast. Quinto was replaced by Maja Salvador, who played the role of Glen. This was Salvador's reunion project with Coco Martin four years after "Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In April 2016, Bela Padilla was written off of the show. Padilla revealed that her role was only supposed to be part of the show for its first eight weeks but her character's stay was extended. Padilla's character briefly came back in October 2016, appearing in Cardo's dreams and imploring him to deliver justice for her death.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On the 7 April 2016 episode of the show, Eddie Garcia's character was teased during the funeral of Bela Padilla's character. On the following episode, Garcia's character "Don" Emilio Syquia would officially be unveiled as part of the show's cast. Between the tail end of 2016 and February 2017, Garcia's character would not make any appearances on the series as Garcia was recuperating from the injuries he sustained from a car accident he figured in. Towards the end of the show's fourth season, the Emilio Syquia character was seemingly killed off following a firefight with show lead Cardo Dalisay. However, the fate of the character was intentionally left ambiguous in order to facilitate his eventual return. Thus, Garcia sat out the rest of Season 5. Garcia would make his return in the show's sixth season under the guise of "Señor" Gustavo Torralba whose criminal activity has shifted to illegal mining and forced labor. The Emilio Syquia/Gustavo Torralba character would meet a permanent end after another encounter with protagonist Cardo Dalisay, which marked the exit of Garcia from the show after being with the show for almost 3 years. "Ang Probinsyano" would be the final TV assignment of Garcia as he died on 20 June 2019. A number of the show's cast then took to social media to pay tribute to the screen icon.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In August 2016, Maja Salvador left the series due to expiration of her contract with Dreamscape and numerous prior commitments (including the then-upcoming drama, "Wildflower"). For many years after her exit from the show, the possibility of her character's return would be the subject of much speculation. Yassi Pressman replaced Salvador as Martin's new love interest and joined the cast in the same month, playing the role of Alyana Arevalo.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In January 2017, the show's popular sidekick, Pepe Herrera exited the show. Herrera left the show to migrate with his family to New Zealand.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: To kickoff the opening of the show's second chapter, the series added new cast members, led by Lito Lapid, Mark Lapid, Angel Aquino, John Arcilla, Jhong Hilario, Sid Lucero, Ronwaldo Martin and Mitch Valdez, among others.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In May 2017, Simon Pineda left the series to focus on his studies and numerous prior commitments (including the filming of then-upcoming movies, "Loving in Tandem" and "Ang Panday" as well as his conflicts with "Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids Season 2" and "The Kids' Choice").


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In November 2017, Angeline Quinto finally joined the cast as a guest character, playing the role of Regine. Her character lasted until early February 2018.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In March 2018, it was announced that Rowell Santiago, Edu Manzano, Dawn Zulueta and Alice Dixson will be the new additions to the series. Santiago will play the President for the second-time since the hit teleserye "Tanging Yaman" in 2010.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On the other hand, Manzano is cast as Vice President Lucas Cabrera. Zulueta and Dixson will play the roles of First Lady Marissa Hidalgo and Second Lady Catherine Cabrera, respectively. Joining them are JC Santos, who previously guested on the show as the young Emilio Syquia, as Marco Cabrera and Mark Anthony Fernandez as Congressman Brandon Cabrera.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 17 April 2018, Dreamscape Ad Prom Head, Eric John Salut, announced on Instagram that Ryza Cenon who had just transferred from the rival GMA Network was set to join the show as part of the First Family. She was joined by Francis Magundayao and Heart Ramos. On the same day, it was also announced that Jolo Revilla would also be joining the cast.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In January 2019, Ryza Cenon left the series due to numerous prior commitments which includes the then-upcoming drama, "The General's Daughter".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In February 2019, it was reported that Lorna Tolentino was set to join the cast of the series as part of the show's sixth season. On 11 March 2019, Tolentino made her debut as Lily Ann Cortez, Pres. Cabrera's bag lady who plans to pit Cabrera against Vendetta and side with whoever comes out victorious. Originally, Tolentino's role was supposed to only last for a month, but the intrigue created by her character led to her appearances being extended and eventually becoming one of the series' top antagonists.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Between February and March 2019, Lito Lapid, Jhong Hilario, Mark Lapid and Edu Manzano left the series in order to focus on their candidacies for the 2019 midterm elections.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 13 September 2019, Coco Martin confirmed that he is in negotiations with Hollywood actors who can guest in the series. On 8 December of the same year, Martin confirmed that Hollywood actors will join the show in 2020; however this plan was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The series airs weekdays on ABS-CBN's "Primetime Bida" evening block and worldwide via TFC. A marathon of the week's episode entitled "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano: Action Marathon" airs on Cine Mo! on Sundays.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In 2019, the series was picked up by Netflix, which began streaming the series' first season under the title "Brothers".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 16 March 2020, the series was put on hiatus and was temporarily replaced by reruns of episodes of "May Bukas Pa" as part of ABS-CBN's temporary programming changes in response to the Enhanced community quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines which necessitated a halt in its production. On the same day, reruns of the show's first chapter started airing on Jeepney TV under the title "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano: Ang Simula".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Amid uncertainty as to its future following ABS-CBN's franchise expiration and the subsequent cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission, on 4 June 2020, ABS-CBN announced that the show will return on the air via the Kapamilya Channel and Cine Mo! for cable and satellite TV as well as on TV Plus. For the first two weeks of the show's return, a 10-episode recap will be aired for burning off before the new episodes are released beginning 29 June 2020. On 15 June 2020, "Ang Probinsyano" made its return on the air under the tagline ""Tuloy ang Laban"", which is the same day production is slated to resume. Because the tapings entail a 5-week lock-in set-up, Susan Roces begged off joining these tapings. Eventually, an arrangement was worked out to facilitate tapings for Roces as she would be shooting scenes from her own home which was explained in canon by having her character hide separately from Cardo. To prepare for the show's return, Coco Martin met with former series star and current fight director, Senator Lito Lapid, to discuss plans for the series.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Following the airing of "Ang Probinsyano's" 10-episode recap, its eighth season officially premiered on 29 June 2020. The season 8 premiere was also streamed live on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Beginning 14 July 2020, "Ang Probinsyano" will be livestreamed on YouTube. On its maiden livestream as a regular on the platform, the show garnered 56,000 live viewers.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 10 October 2020, the show resumed airings on free TV via the ZOE Broadcasting Network-owned A2Z Channel 11 and on 8 March 2021, via the MediaQuest Holdings-owned TV5.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 29 June 2021, Dreamscape Entertainment announced the show will air in 41 countries in Africa via StarTimes PTV Regional network.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano" was initially set to air until July 2016, but the show was extended up to 2017 because of its action scenes, high ratings and "real life lessons" which were well received by the audience. The series has also been known to educate its viewers about Philippine laws and issues. To mark its first anniversary, a concert entitled "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano: Isang Pamilya Tayo the Anniversary Concert" was held on 8 October 2016 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. With the tickets to the event sold-out, the show was also made available on pay-per-view via Sky On Demand.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 21 April 2017, ABS-CBN announced that the action drama had officially been extended until January 2018. In August 2017, the series celebrated 100 weeks on the air. The following month, the series celebrated its second anniversary.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Owing to the show's consistently high ratings, it went past its January 2018 extension and was given another extension to run until June 2018. With the show maintaining its high ratings, the show was yet again extended up to September 2018, at which point the series celebrated its third anniversary. Said anniversary was celebrated on the 23 September 2018 episode of "ASAP".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 4 July 2018, amid reports that the show was ending in September and will be replaced by either the Judy Ann Santos-starrer "Starla" or the Angel Locsin-led "The General's Daughter", ABS-CBN's Head of Corporate Communication Kane Errol Choa clarified that the show will not be ending any time soon. Choa cited that Martin and his team of writers are "enjoying the process of coming up with creative ideas to make the story more compelling, as well as collaborating with the cast and the production team" on top of the continued high ratings the show registers. As to when the show is ending, cast member Malou Crisologo stated that the show was extended but that the management did not state until when the extension shall run.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 8 August 2019, "Ang Probinsyano" aired its 1000th episode, which was celebrated by the show's staff on the set. On 8 December 2019, the show belatedly celebrated its 4th Anniversary on that day's episode of "ASAP Natin 'To".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 22 July 2022, shortly following the conclusion of that night's episode, Martin announced that "Ang Probinsyano" would end production after a historic 7 year-run, with the final episode being aired on 12 August 2022 to make way for the 2022 remake of "Darna", which is scheduled to take over the former program's vacated time slot when the latter premiered on 15 August 2022.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: To promote the show, ABS-CBN has launched a line of tie-in merchandise which includes school supplies, apparel and toys, among others.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In 2017, an endless runner app based on the show was released. Developed by Xeleb Technologies, the game registered 50,000 downloads in the first five minutes of its release in May and by August of the same year, was approaching one million downloads.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: "Ang Probinsyano" has also been used as the theme of various attractions. Among this is "Misyon: Ang Probinsyano", an attraction offered by ABS-CBN Studio XP, which is a 4D interactive theater game with rules that are akin to the Filipino traditional game "patintero". Another is the escape room game "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano: The Escape Room", a collaboration between ABS-CBN and Left Behind PH that features puzzles and tasks inspired by the series.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano" is considered one of the most-watched teleserye in the Philippines, garnering the highest-rated pilot episode of all time with 41.6% in 2015. The series would post its highest peak nationwide rating of 46.7% on its 92nd episode in February 2016. The series' highest rating stood for over two years until it was broken in the show's 782nd episode, garnering a nationwide rating of 47.2% in October 2018. The series is well received by the public due to its action sequences, life lessons and crime prevention tips.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: After a historic seven-year run on both television and digital platforms, "Ang Probinsyano" finally had its final wave on August 12, 2022. On YouTube alone, the series pulled an all-time high of more than 536,543 concurrent viewers. The series also occupied half of the trending list of Twitter, with "#FPJsAngProbinsyano" and "#FPJAP7MissionAccomplished" replacing each other at the top spot.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On July 29, 2016, the MTRCB sent a summons to the producers, writers and directors of the show over a scene in its July 25, 2016 episode with "sexually suggestive themes".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The scene in question sees Ella (Vice Ganda) having a hard time changing a flat tire in the rain, when Cardo pulls over to help out. In the course of the scene, double entendres were allegedly used in the dialogue between the characters.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The MTRCB also noted that although the episode showed an apt SPG (Strong Parental Guidance) rating, pursuant to MTRCB Memorandum Circular No. 12-2011, said episode did not contain the appropriate descriptor "SEX" despite the presence of what may be considered 'sexually suggestive' shots in the subject depiction.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: A conference was held on August 2, 2016, wherein Malu Sevilla (director), Eileen Garcia (executive producer), Dagang Vilbar (producer), Elaine Songco (network MTRCB coordinator) and John Joseph Tuason (episode writer) attended. MTRCB Chairman Eugenio Villareal noted that the summoned personnel manifested that they had no intention to offend anyone in regard to the subject scene; and they believe that there is room for improvement for the program as regards sensitivity to particular types of audience, for instance, the young and women.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Villareal likewise said that they took note of the show's "self-regulatory resolution" to fight objectification and depict scenes instead where the "dignity of the human person is upheld."


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Originally, "Pulang Araw" held camp at Mt. Arayat until SAF Troopers raided said camp, forcing them to escape to the fictional Mt. Karagao.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Behind the scenes, the show began removing all references to the Municipality of Arayat, Pampanga, beginning with its July 18, 2017 episode. However, despite the scrubbing of all mention to Arayat, on July 21, 2017, the Municipal Council of Arayat, Pampanga forwarded a Resolution to the Provincial Board of Pampanga demanding that the show's producers apologize for depicting Arayat "as a haven and breeding ground for terrorists and hoodlums", said its Municipal Mayor Emmanuel Alejandro. The Resolution also "calls for a hearing and to make ABS-CBN apologize for the wrong impressions it created and to correct these [in the long-running telenovela]". The Municipality of Arayat, also contemplated filing charges of libel against ABS-CBN for the show's "damaging" portrayal of the town.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The show's producers reasoned that Arayat was only used in the show nominally and the production has never shot an actual scene in Arayat. The producers said further that there was no intention to portray Arayat in a bad light; that a disclaimer was issued at the beginning of each episode of the show, stating that the characters, incidents and organizations depicted there were purely fictitious and bore no resemblance to actual people and events. ABS-CBN has since apologized to the Municipality of Arayat.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Mayor Alejandrino also directed ire at former Pampanga Governors Mark Lapid and Lito Lapid for their participation in the storyline which taints the reputation of the town and province they once served. Coco Martin, the show's lead is also a native of Pampanga, hailing from San Fernando.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Alejandrino said that the storyline the show is running is a sensitive topic in Arayat, which used to be a bastion for socialist and communist movements from the pre-World War II years up to the 1990s. Alejandrino further said that contrary to what has been the reaction online to the course of action taken by the Municipality, they are not overreacting and that they are only trying to protect the town's image, which has a lucrative tourist market.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The show's production team was called out online by fans of the spouses Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera over the alleged unauthorized usage of the spouses' family pictures. The controversy first began gaining steam when a Twitter fan site dedicated to the spouse' daughter Zia, "ZiaDantesFanSite" posted a video with the caption "Zia's photo was unethically used by ‘Ang Probinsyano’ in Nov 2017. In last night's episode, [Dingdong and Marian] DongYan's photo was edited and used again by the show. Were the photos of Dingdong, Marian and Zia used [and] edited without permission? Dear Ang Probinsyano, strike two na po kayo ah." which was quickly shared by other users and from which Dantes possibly gained knowledge of such usage.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Dantes' response to the controversy was posted on his Facebook account "Courtesy and fair practice must always be observed especially in an established industry like ours. But whether or not it is done within the entertainment sector, we should always be reminded of the basic etiquette for online photo use and sharing that includes asking permission and/or citing sources. I do hope that this won't happen again to anyone." he wrote. In the same post, Dantes also shared an excerpt of his letter to the production team dated August 11, 2018 which read "I appreciate that you found artistic inspiration from the original photos. Unfortunately, there is the inescapable consequence that legal and moral rights were violated here. And as you may very well be aware of, established industry practice is against such act as it amounts to disrespect. Worst of all, as a father and husband, I cannot help but feel offended and deeply hurt by such actions, which happened not just once, but twice. Basic rules of courtesy in this case dictate that you first secure permission from the photographer and my Family."


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On August 14, 2018, the production team of FPJ's Ang Probinsyano released a statement apologizing to Dantes and his family. The statement explained that the production team hired a third-party contractor to create the props for the show, of which they were neither aware that the photograph belonged to Dantes nor was it intended to disrespect or offend Dantes and his family.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The producers added that they have already launched an investigation "to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future." Alice Dixson, likewise offered her apology to Dantes.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: After numerous special citations from both the PNP, DILG and other agencies, the show was placed at the center of the storm over its portrayal of government agencies, the PNP in particular, as part of the Chapter 3 (Political Arc) of the show.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde, though admitting he is a fan of the show, criticized the portrayal of his fictional counterpart, Alejandro Terante (Soliman Cruz). He decried the character of Terante being portrayed as power-hungry and corrupt. Following this, Albayalde withdrew support from the show. Compounding the situation, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año also voiced his displeasure for the show's depiction of the police force. Año also threatened to file a case against the show's producers for the illegal use of insignas and uniform of the PNP, punishable under Art. 179 of the Revised Penal Code, if the show did not change its plot. Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP Chief himself, commiserated with Albayalde as he deemed the adverse depiction of the PNP unfair.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Prior to the PNP's withdrawal of support, however, the series' lead Coco Martin apologized to the PNP for the perceived negative depiction of the PNP and assured the latter that there is no intent to malign the PNP as evidenced by the disclaimer flashed before the beginning of each episode. Martin also noted that Albayalde, being relatively new to his post, may have misconstrued the arc of the story and gave further assurance that the depiction of the men in uniform as scalawags would not be permanent considering that the story is developing. ABS-CBN, for its part, also assured the PNP that it had no intention to disparage the PNP being that the series is a work of fiction.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Many were also quick to defend the show and criticize the PNP for its sensitivity to its representation in the show. Among those that threw its support for "Ang Probinsyano" was Senator Grace Poe whose father starred in the original film on which the series is based. Poe points out that the show, apart from keeping the memory of FPJ alive promotes positive values like respect for elders, courage and patriotism. Poe further notes that the original film featured scalawag policemen as antagonists and urged the PNP to look at the story from a bigger picture, that it should not be forgotten that the series protagonist is a policeman himself. Actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith criticized the PNP's reaction over the portrayal of its members on the show, also recalling how "" earlier ran into the same problem. The Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), on the other hand, condemned the statements of the PNP and DILG as an attack on freedom of expression and likened the same to the AFP's red-baiting of Martial Law film screenings a month earlier. Similarly, the Let's Organize for Democracy and Integrity (LODI) group slammed the PNP's attempt to censor the program and urged Año and Albayalde to "look in the mirror" instead. Netizens also jumped in to the defense of the show.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The MTRCB, through its chair Rachel Arenas, said that it cannot censor the show as the agency is a bridge between constitutionally protected freedom of expression and the right of the state to regulate. She adds that upon review of the show's episodes, she saw nothing objectionable about the portrayal of the police considering that the show still depicts the triumph of good over evil.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: After a meeting between Martin and the show's producers with the PNP and DILG, the latter handed its support anew to the show. In a joint statement by ABS-CBN and DILG, it was stated that the latter will continue to support the show "as it continues to inspire Filipinos with the valuable lesson that in the end, good will always triumph over evil." Thereafter, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the parties.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The show once again landed in hot water for a scene in the July 15, 2019 episode showing police women being raped by Bungo (Baron Geisler). Netizens were quick to point that the rape and violence against women shown on screen were too graphic. Members of the PNP also cried that the rape committed upon uniformed officers was a disrespect to their uniforms. In a statement, PNP Deputy Spokesperson Lt. Col. Kimberly Molitas said that the PNP will talk to the production staff of the show and "[d]epending on the extent of the violation [we] may warn them or rescind the said MOU".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The negative portrayal of the PNP was not the end of the show's woes, as the same controversy arising from the story arc created an off-shoot problem. PAO Chief Persida Rueda-Acosta also twitted the show for the "unauthorized" usage of PAO's seal, echoing Senator Lacson's statement. Moreover, she cried foul over a scene in the show where it was shown that PAO lawyers were unwilling to take a case that would pit them against the allies of President Lucas Cabrera (Edu Manzano).


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The show has also been hounded by rumors of its staff being maltreated on the set. Among the rumors that have circulated involves Coco Martin's alleged temper, which according to cast member Arjo Atayde is "a big, big misinterpretation". Atayde went on to explain that the gesture is only meant to remind everyone on the set to observe proper decorum, that Martin cares about the show that he wants it to be perfect as much as possible.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Aside from Martin's alleged bad temper, he has also been alleged to have engaged in dousing the show's staff and cast members with water while they are sleeping. The issue would crop up again a year later when Robin Padilla accused Martin of abusing the show's personnel by pouring water unto them; the former also alleged that Martin argued with a female location director wherein the latter lost his temper. Padilla made the claims amid his rants against ABS-CBN which was facing woes with the impending expiration of its franchise and stonewalling committed by the House of Representatives on the franchise renewal bills filed in its favor. Dreamscape Entertainment, however, refuted Padilla's claim. Dreamacape vehemently denied that Martin maltreated the show's staff and explained that the incidences of water dousing is actually a prank among the cast and crew of the show. This was corroborated by former cast member Atayde, who once again came to the defense of Martin.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 19 August 2019, Irene Minor, a supposed talent manager supplying talent to the show, became the subject of a complaint on the public service show "Bitag". The complainant alleged that Minor was involved in a ponzi scheme and was not paying the talent she brought on the set of the show. Minor contended that ABS-CBN was not paying her and that she was actually advancing payment to her talents through the investment scheme subject of the complaint against her. ABS-CBN, for its part, denied Minor's claims, reasoning that Minor is neither connected to the show nor the network and that it had banned Minor after receiving numerous complaints similar to that being tackled on the program.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The issue would be resurface as an alleged former cameraman of ABS-CBN launched the accusations anew against Martin following his statements rallying support for the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN. Actors, directors and staff members of the show came to the defense of Martin and released statements in support of the show lead, refuting the allegations by the said cameraman point-by-point.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Following Solicitor General Jose Calida's filing of a quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court seeking to nullify ABS-CBN's franchise, the stars of "Ang Probinsyano" joined the prayer vigil for the renewal of the network's franchise and appealed to members of the Congress to grant the same.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Series lead Coco Martin became one of the most outspoken critics of the Duterte Administration after ABS-CBN was forced off the air without its franchise being renewed. Martin launched tirades against the National Telecommunications Commission and Solicitor General Jose Calida for their hand in the shutdown of ABS-CBN, remarking that they have made fools out of Filipinos; and presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for his statements on the future of ABS-CBN employees and the preferential treatment received by POGOs. This led to internet trolls descending upon Martin's social media accounts, leading the former to deactivate his Instagram account.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Calida would retaliate against Martin during the 1 June 2020 committee hearings of the House of Representatives on the renewal of ABS-CBN's franchise, quipping ""He feels that he can solve their problems the same way as he solves them on screen, with macho bluster and bravado. Allegedly, he has apologized for his tantrum"", in reference to the Cardo Dalisay character.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In the midst of the controversy, Martin explained that he was passionate about the fate of ABS-CBN because the family he was referring to in his statements was not his nuclear family, but the employees of ABS-CBN. Martin also professed that doing "Ang Probinsyano" was the cast's service to Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Apart from Martin's statements, "Ang Probinsyano" and "Cardo Dalisay" emerged as top twitter trending topics on the day ABS-CBN was forced off the air and after its return to air was announced.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Amidst the hearings for ABS-CBN's franchise renewal, "Ang Probinsyano's" future continues to be threatened with reports stating that it would end by September 2020. The threat to its future is further compounded by the "alias" cease and desist order issued to stop the broadcast of TV Plus and Sky Direct, further diminishing the network and the show's reach.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: While the show is a work of fiction, and obviates such fact by flashing a disclaimer at the start of each episode, the show has been known to tackle timely societal issues which it integrates into its story. This melding of the fictional and the real has earned the show praise from critics and audiences alike, with some looking at "Ang Probinsyano" as a "social commentary of our times".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: However, while praises have been sung for its realistic portrayal of societal themes, such as the polarizing Philippine Drug War, the long-running series has also been taken to task for perceived "unfair" depiction of various government agencies and its personnel. Nevertheless, many came to the defense of the show, saying that the show is fictional and the government agencies that have been offended should instead cleanse their ranks.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In addition to depicting timely issues, the long-running action drama series also has been praised for showing good values on television, such as patriotism, the importance of prayers, acceptance of members of the LGBT, and the paramount role of the family in the Philippine society, among others. According to sociologist Josephine Placido, the show has earned the title of ""Pambansang Teleserye"" because of the good values and life lessons that the show depicts on television.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On the other hand, historian Xiao Chua opines that the show gives Filipinos hope as it is structured in the "light-dark-light" form characteristic of Philippine epic poetry, which is also similar to how original film lead Fernando Poe Jr. structured his films. On top of this, the "Cardo Dalisay" character himself is seen as a role model for being "steadfast and incorruptible".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Moreover, the show extends its cause further by undertaking outreach programs to various communities. Lead star Coco Martin has himself described the efforts put into the show as a service to the nation, for Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Aside from portraying timely social issues, the show has been known for producing public service announcements which it calls "Ligtas Tips". The PSAs airs during commercial breaks of the show, while infographics are also uploaded on the show's website. In 2017, "Ligtas Tips" was collected into a book entitled "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano Ligtas Tips" published by ABS-CBN Publishing.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The long-running program has become a favorite avenue for major stars of yesteryears to return to television. Most notably, the show has played host to the return of action stars to the small screen after being inactive owing to the decline of the action genre in cinemas. Action star and Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. praised Martin and the series as a blessing to former action stars and stuntmen.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: High-profile actors and action genre stalwarts, however, are not the sole beneficiaries of the show. Martin has also been known to cast former actors and actresses who are down on their luck in order to give them their second chance in showbusiness, drawing from his experience during his beginnings in the industry and desiring to share the blessings he has reaped through the show. Among these stars that were given their second chance are Mark Anthony Fernandez, CJ Ramos, Rhed Bustamante, Whitney Tyson and Mystica.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The action drama series has not only seen the reintroduction of action stars to television, but has also become channel to revive the long dormant action genre in both film and television. Former series cast Jeric Raval and Jolo Revilla thanked Martin for reviving the action genre, while action star Ronnie Ricketts opines that Martin kept the genre alive.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Much like the star of the original film, Martin's take on the role has been characterized as "immortal". The tag does not, however, come from Cardo Dalisay's uncanny gunslinging and fighting prowess that allows him to evade bullets and other attacks, but from the many times he has survived being "killed". This includes his "death" at the hands of Marco Cabrera (JC Santos), which was revealed to be a dream sequence and his actual brush with death after being overpowered by Bungo (Baron Geisler). Both these "deaths" and the numerous extensions the series has enjoyed has made it the subject of jokes and memes among Filipino netizens. Coco Martin himself has acknowledged the numerous memes and jokes and posted his own meme stating that the show is set to end in September 2048.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Martin has described the late Fernando Poe Jr. as his superhero. Similar to Poe, Martin would also attain superhero status in his portrayal of the Cardo Dalisay character, and in the face of ABS-CBN's franchise renewal woes, this would be tested - leading to some branding series star Martin as the "face of the resistance".


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Being the country's top-rating and longest-running action series, the show inevitably became a sought after platform for political endorsements. The show's involvement with politics began with Coco Martin's endorsement of Grace Poe for President in the 2016 national elections. Martin would again endorse Poe in her bid for reelection as a Senator in the 2019 midterm elections.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In a survey conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia, Inc. in 2018, it was found that Martin has the highest endorsement value among celebrities to voters in Metro Manila. Earlier that same year, the names of the characters of the show were used in a mock election conducted by the COMELEC with Cardo Dalisay winning the post of Barangay Chairman.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Martin and leading lady Yassi Pressman also dabbled into endorsing party-list groups, with the two supporting Ang Probinsyano party-list as representatives of the organization's youth sector. The said party-list finished fifth which assured it a seat at the House of Representatives. The partylist bid was contested by former AGHAM Partylist representative Angelo Palmones who alleged that the organization took the name of the television series to circumvent regulations limiting candidates' exposure on television. The partylist received controversy when party-list representative Alfredo de los Santos figured in an incident in Albay that saw him punch a waiter "for no apparent reason". The partylist launched a probe on the incident and De los Santos himself has since then apologized for the incident.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: Aside from the endorsement by the show's lead, actors with political aspirations sought exposure in the series to improve their visibility and profile among voters. This necessitated characters played by the candidates to be written off the show before the start of their respective campaign periods. Of the 9 former cast or guest cast members who ran for the 2019 midterm elections, only Lito Lapid and Jhong Hilario emerged victorious. Despite this result however, the show was still considered a kingmaker as factoring Grace Poe finishing at second in the electoral race and two party-list groups bearing the show's name being within the top 10 among the assured seats in the House Representatives, its endorsement value was affirmed.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In January 2016, Coco Martin was given a certificate of appreciation for his favorable portrayal of a highly dedicated and responsible CIDG Police officer in "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano". The citation was given during the 63rd Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Founding Anniversary.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: In July of the same year, Martin was invited as a guest at Camp Crame by then-PNP Chief Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, a self-confessed fan of the show. The visit became an occasion for the top cop to thank Martin for the positive portrayal of the PNP in the series.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: The show has received high praise from the Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno who stated that the police force should take the example of the lead character Cardo.


title: Ang Probinsyano

text: On 14 September 2016, Surigao congressman Robert Ace Barbers filed House Resolution No. 358 at the 17th Congress of the Philippines. The resolution commended the show for its efforts to promote crime awareness and prevention among viewers and endorsed Coco Martin as "Celebrity Advocate for a Drug-Free Philippines."


title: Ransomware

text: Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid. While some simple ransomware may lock the system without damaging any files, more advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion. It encrypts the victim's files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them. In a properly implemented cryptoviral extortion attack, recovering the files without the decryption key is an intractable problem – and difficult to trace digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are used for the ransoms, making tracing and prosecuting the perpetrators difficult.


title: Ransomware

text: Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a Trojan disguised as a legitimate file that the user is tricked into downloading or opening when it arrives as an email attachment. However, one high-profile example, the WannaCry worm, traveled automatically between computers without user interaction.


title: Ransomware

text: Starting as early as 1989 with the first documented ransomware known as the AIDS trojan, the use of ransomware scams has grown internationally. There were 181.5 million ransomware attacks in the first six months of 2018. This record marks a 229% increase over this same time frame in 2017. In June 2014, vendor McAfee released data showing that it had collected more than double the number of ransomware samples that quarter than it had in the same quarter of the previous year. CryptoLocker was particularly successful, procuring an estimated US$3 million before it was taken down by authorities, and CryptoWall was estimated by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to have accrued over US$18 million by June 2015. In 2020, the IC3 received 2,474 complaints identified as ransomware with adjusted losses of over $29.1 million. The losses could be more than that, according to the FBI. According to a report by SonicWall, there were around 623 million ransomware attacks in 2021.


title: Ransomware

text: The concept of file-encrypting ransomware was invented and implemented by Young and Yung at Columbia University and was presented at the 1996 IEEE Security & Privacy conference. It is called "cryptoviral extortion" and it was inspired by the fictional facehugger in the movie "Alien". Cryptoviral extortion is the following three-round protocol carried out between the attacker and the victim.


title: Ransomware

text: The symmetric key is randomly generated and will not assist other victims. At no point is the attacker's private key exposed to victims and the victim need only send a very small ciphertext (the encrypted symmetric-cipher key) to the attacker.


title: Ransomware

text: Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a Trojan, entering a system through, for example, a malicious attachment, embedded link in a Phishing email, or a vulnerability in a network service. The program then runs a payload, which locks the system in some fashion, or claims to lock the system but does not (e.g., a scareware program). Payloads may display a fake warning purportedly by an entity such as a law enforcement agency, falsely claiming that the system has been used for illegal activities, contains content such as pornography and "pirated" media.


title: Ransomware

text: Some payloads consist simply of an application designed to lock or restrict the system until payment is made, typically by setting the Windows Shell to itself, or even modifying the master boot record and/or partition table to prevent the operating system from booting until it is repaired. The most sophisticated payloads encrypt files, with many using strong encryption to encrypt the victim's files in such a way that only the malware author has the needed decryption key.


title: Ransomware

text: Payment is virtually always the goal, and the victim is coerced into paying for the ransomware to be removed either by supplying a program that can decrypt the files, or by sending an unlock code that undoes the payload's changes. While the attacker may simply take the money without returning the victim's files, it is in the attacker's best interest to perform the decryption as agreed, since victims will stop sending payments if it becomes known that they serve no purpose. A key element in making ransomware work for the attacker is a convenient payment system that is hard to trace. A range of such payment methods have been used, including wire transfers, premium-rate text messages, pre-paid voucher services such as paysafecard, and the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.


title: Ransomware

text: In May 2020, vendor Sophos reported that the global average cost to remediate a ransomware attack (considering downtime, people time, device cost, network cost, lost opportunity and ransom paid) was $761,106. Ninety-five percent of organizations that paid the ransom had their data restored.


title: Ransomware

text: The first known malware extortion attack, the "AIDS Trojan" written by Joseph Popp in 1989, had a design failure so severe it was not necessary to pay the extortionist at all. Its payload hid the files on the hard drive and encrypted only their names, and displayed a message claiming that the user's license to use a certain piece of software had expired. The user was asked to pay US$189 to "PC Cyborg Corporation" in order to obtain a repair tool even though the decryption key could be extracted from the code of the Trojan. The Trojan was also known as "PC Cyborg". Popp was declared mentally unfit to stand trial for his actions, but he promised to donate the profits from the malware to fund AIDS research.


title: Ransomware

text: The idea of abusing anonymous cash systems to safely collect ransom from human kidnapping was introduced in 1992 by Sebastiaan von Solms and David Naccache. This electronic money collection method was also proposed for cryptoviral extortion attacks. In the von Solms-Naccache scenario a newspaper publication was used (since bitcoin ledgers did not exist at the time the paper was written).


title: Ransomware

text: The notion of using public key cryptography for data kidnapping attacks was introduced in 1996 by Adam L. Young and Moti Yung. Young and Yung critiqued the failed AIDS Information Trojan that relied on symmetric cryptography alone, the fatal flaw being that the decryption key could be extracted from the Trojan, and implemented an experimental proof-of-concept cryptovirus on a Macintosh SE/30 that used RSA and the Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) to hybrid encrypt the victim's data. Since public key cryptography is used, the virus only contains the "encryption" key. The attacker keeps the corresponding "private" decryption key private. Young and Yung's original experimental cryptovirus had the victim send the asymmetric ciphertext to the attacker who deciphers it and returns the symmetric decryption key it contains to the victim for a fee. Long before electronic money existed Young and Yung proposed that electronic money could be extorted through encryption as well, stating that "the virus writer can effectively hold all of the money ransom until half of it is given to him. Even if the e-money was previously encrypted by the user, it is of no use to the user if it gets encrypted by a cryptovirus". They referred to these attacks as being "cryptoviral extortion", an overt attack that is part of a larger class of attacks in a field called cryptovirology, which encompasses both overt and covert attacks. The cryptoviral extortion protocol was inspired by the parasitic relationship between H. R. Giger's facehugger and its host in the movie "Alien".


title: Ransomware

text: Examples of extortionate ransomware became prominent in May 2005. By mid-2006, Trojans such as Gpcode, TROJ.RANSOM.A, Archiveus, Krotten, Cryzip, and MayArchive began utilizing more sophisticated RSA encryption schemes, with ever-increasing key-sizes. Gpcode.AG, which was detected in June 2006, was encrypted with a 660-bit RSA public key. In June 2008, a variant known as Gpcode.AK was detected. Using a 1024-bit RSA key, it was believed large enough to be computationally infeasible to break without a concerted distributed effort.


title: Ransomware

text: Encrypting ransomware returned to prominence in late 2013 with the propagation of CryptoLocker—using the Bitcoin digital currency platform to collect ransom money. In December 2013, ZDNet estimated based on Bitcoin transaction information that between 15 October and 18 December, the operators of CryptoLocker had procured about US$27 million from infected users. The CryptoLocker technique was widely copied in the months following, including CryptoLocker 2.0 (thought not to be related to CryptoLocker), CryptoDefense (which initially contained a major design flaw that stored the private key on the infected system in a user-retrievable location, due to its use of Windows' built-in encryption APIs), and the August 2014 discovery of a Trojan specifically targeting network-attached storage devices produced by Synology. In January 2015, it was reported that ransomware-styled attacks have occurred against individual websites via hacking, and through ransomware designed to target Linux-based web servers.


title: Ransomware

text: In some infections, there is a two-stage payload, common in many malware systems. The user is tricked into running a script, which downloads the main virus and executes it. In early versions of the dual-payload system, the script was contained in a Microsoft Office document with an attached VBScript macro, or in a windows scripting facility (WSF) file. As detection systems started blocking these first stage payloads, the Microsoft Malware Protection Center identified a trend away toward LNK files with self-contained Microsoft Windows PowerShell scripts. In 2016, PowerShell was found to be involved in nearly 40% of endpoint security incidents,


title: Ransomware

text: Some ransomware strains have used proxies tied to Tor hidden services to connect to their command and control servers, increasing the difficulty of tracing the exact location of the criminals. Furthermore, dark web vendors have increasingly started to offer the technology as a service, wherein ransomware is sold, ready for deployment on victims' machines, on a subscription basis, similarly to Adobe Creative Cloud or Office 365.


title: Ransomware

text: On 28 September 2020, the computer systems at US’ biggest healthcare provider the Universal Health Services, was hit by a ransomware attack. The UHS chain from different locations reported noticing problems, with some locations reporting locked computers and phone systems from early Sunday (27 September).


title: Ransomware

text: In August 2010, Russian authorities arrested nine individuals connected to a ransomware Trojan known as WinLock. Unlike the previous Gpcode Trojan, WinLock did not use encryption. Instead, WinLock trivially restricted access to the system by displaying pornographic images and asked users to send a premium-rate SMS (costing around US$10) to receive a code that could be used to unlock their machines. The scam hit numerous users across Russia and neighbouring countries—reportedly earning the group over US$16 million.


title: Ransomware

text: In 2011, a ransomware Trojan surfaced that imitated the Windows Product Activation notice, and informed users that a system's Windows installation had to be re-activated due to "[being a] victim of fraud". An online activation option was offered (like the actual Windows activation process), but was unavailable, requiring the user to call one of six international numbers to input a 6-digit code. While the malware claimed that this call would be free, it was routed through a rogue operator in a country with high international phone rates, who placed the call on hold, causing the user to incur large international long-distance charges.


title: Ransomware

text: In February 2013, a ransomware Trojan based on the Stamp.EK exploit kit surfaced; the malware was distributed via sites hosted on the project hosting services SourceForge and GitHub that claimed to offer "fake nude pics" of celebrities. In July 2013, an OS X-specific ransomware Trojan surfaced, which displays a web page that accuses the user of downloading pornography. Unlike its Windows-based counterparts, it does not block the entire computer, but simply exploits the behaviour of the web browser itself to frustrate attempts to close the page through normal means.


title: Ransomware

text: In July 2013, a 21-year-old man from Virginia, whose computer coincidentally did contain pornographic photographs of underage girls with whom he had conducted sexualized communications, turned himself in to police after receiving and being deceived by FBI MoneyPak Ransomware accusing him of possessing child pornography. An investigation discovered the incriminating files, and the man was charged with child sexual abuse and possession of child pornography.


title: Ransomware

text: The converse of ransomware is a cryptovirology attack invented by Adam L. Young that threatens to publish stolen information from the victim's computer system rather than deny the victim access to it. In a leakware attack, malware exfiltrates sensitive host data either to the attacker or alternatively, to remote instances of the malware, and the attacker threatens to publish the victim's data unless a ransom is paid. The attack was presented at West Point in 2003 and was summarized in the book "Malicious Cryptography" as follows, "The attack differs from the extortion attack in the following way. In the extortion attack, the victim is denied access to its own valuable information and has to pay to get it back, where in the attack that is presented here the victim retains access to the information but its disclosure is at the discretion of the computer virus". The attack is rooted in game theory and was originally dubbed "non-zero sum games and survivable malware". The attack can yield monetary gain in cases where the malware acquires access to information that may damage the victim user or organization, e.g., the reputational damage that could result from publishing proof that the attack itself was a success.


title: Ransomware

text: Exfiltration attacks are usually targeted, with a curated victim list, and often preliminary surveillance of the victim's systems to find potential data targets and weaknesses.


title: Ransomware

text: With the increased popularity of ransomware on PC platforms, ransomware targeting mobile operating systems has also proliferated. Typically, mobile ransomware payloads are blockers, as there is little incentive to encrypt data since it can be easily restored via online synchronization. Mobile ransomware typically targets the Android platform, as it allows applications to be installed from third-party sources. The payload is typically distributed as an APK file installed by an unsuspecting user; it may attempt to display a blocking message over top of all other applications, while another used a form of clickjacking to cause the user to give it "device administrator" privileges to achieve deeper access to the system.


title: Ransomware

text: Different tactics have been used on iOS devices, such as exploiting iCloud accounts and using the Find My iPhone system to lock access to the device. On iOS 10.3, Apple patched a bug in the handling of JavaScript pop-up windows in Safari that had been exploited by ransomware websites.


title: Ransomware

text: It recently has been shown that ransomware may also target ARM architectures like those that can be found in various Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, such as Industrial IoT edge devices.


title: Ransomware

text: In August 2019 researchers demonstrated it's possible to infect DSLR cameras with ransomware. Digital cameras often use Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP - standard protocol used to transfer files.) Researchers found that it was possible to exploit vulnerabilities in the protocol to infect target camera(s) with ransomware (or execute any arbitrary code). This attack was presented at the Defcon security conference in Las Vegas as a proof of concept attack (not as actual armed malware).


title: Ransomware

text: In 2012, a major ransomware Trojan known as Reveton began to spread. Based on the Citadel Trojan (which, itself, is based on the Zeus Trojan), its payload displays a warning purportedly from a law enforcement agency claiming that the computer has been used for illegal activities, such as downloading unlicensed software or child pornography. Due to this behaviour, it is commonly referred to as the "Police Trojan". The warning informs the user that to unlock their system, they would have to pay a fine using a voucher from an anonymous prepaid cash service such as Ukash or paysafecard. To increase the illusion that the computer is being tracked by law enforcement, the screen also displays the computer's IP address, while some versions display footage from a victim's webcam to give the illusion that the user is being recorded.


title: Ransomware

text: Reveton initially began spreading in various European countries in early 2012. Variants were localized with templates branded with the logos of different law enforcement organizations based on the user's country; for example, variants used in the United Kingdom contained the branding of organizations such as the Metropolitan Police Service and the Police National E-Crime Unit. Another version contained the logo of the royalty collection society PRS for Music, which specifically accused the user of illegally downloading music. In a statement warning the public about the malware, the Metropolitan Police clarified that they would never lock a computer in such a way as part of an investigation.


title: Ransomware

text: In May 2012, Trend Micro threat researchers discovered templates for variations for the United States and Canada, suggesting that its authors may have been planning to target users in North America. By August 2012, a new variant of Reveton began to spread in the United States, claiming to require the payment of a $200 fine to the FBI using a MoneyPak card. In February 2013, a Russian citizen was arrested in Dubai by Spanish authorities for his connection to a crime ring that had been using Reveton; ten other individuals were arrested on money laundering charges. In August 2014, Avast Software reported that it had found new variants of Reveton that also distribute password-stealing malware as part of its payload.


title: Ransomware

text: Encrypting ransomware reappeared in September 2013 with a Trojan known as "CryptoLocker", which generated a 2048-bit RSA key pair and uploaded in turn to a command-and-control server, and used to encrypt files using a whitelist of specific file extensions. The malware threatened to delete the private key if a payment of Bitcoin or a pre-paid cash voucher was not made within 3 days of the infection. Due to the extremely large key size it uses, analysts and those affected by the Trojan considered CryptoLocker extremely difficult to repair. Even after the deadline passed, the private key could still be obtained using an online tool, but the price would increase to 10 BTC—which cost approximately US$2300 as of November 2013.


title: Ransomware

text: CryptoLocker was isolated by the seizure of the Gameover ZeuS botnet as part of Operation Tovar, as officially announced by the U.S. Department of Justice on 2 June 2014. The Department of Justice also publicly issued an indictment against the Russian hacker Evgeniy Bogachev for his alleged involvement in the botnet. It was estimated that at least US$3 million was extorted with the malware before the shutdown.


title: Ransomware

text: In September 2014, a wave of ransomware Trojans surfaced that first targeted users in Australia, under the names "CryptoWall" and "CryptoLocker" (which is, as with CryptoLocker 2.0, unrelated to the original CryptoLocker). The Trojans spread via fraudulent e-mails claiming to be failed parcel delivery notices from Australia Post; to evade detection by automatic e-mail scanners that follow all links on a page to scan for malware, this variant was designed to require users to visit a web page and enter a CAPTCHA code before the payload is actually downloaded, preventing such automated processes from being able to scan the payload. Symantec determined that these new variants, which it identified as "CryptoLocker.F", were again, unrelated to the original CryptoLocker due to differences in their operation. A notable victim of the Trojans was the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; live programming on its television news channel ABC News 24 was disrupted for half an hour and shifted to Melbourne studios due to a CryptoWall infection on computers at its Sydney studio.


title: Ransomware

text: Another Trojan in this wave, TorrentLocker, initially contained a design flaw comparable to CryptoDefense; it used the same keystream for every infected computer, making the encryption trivial to overcome. However, this flaw was later fixed. By late-November 2014, it was estimated that over 9,000 users had been infected by TorrentLocker in Australia alone, trailing only Turkey with 11,700 infections.


title: Ransomware

text: Another major ransomware Trojan targeting Windows, CryptoWall, first appeared in 2014. One strain of CryptoWall was distributed as part of a malvertising campaign on the Zedo ad network in late-September 2014 that targeted several major websites; the ads redirected to rogue websites that used browser plugin exploits to download the payload. A Barracuda Networks researcher also noted that the payload was signed with a digital signature in an effort to appear trustworthy to security software.


title: Ransomware

text: CryptoWall 3.0 used a payload written in JavaScript as part of an email attachment, which downloads executables disguised as JPG images. To further evade detection, the malware creates new instances of explorer.exe and svchost.exe to communicate with its servers. When encrypting files, the malware also deletes volume shadow copies and installs spyware that steals passwords and Bitcoin wallets.


title: Ransomware

text: The FBI reported in June 2015 that nearly 1,000 victims had contacted the bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center to report CryptoWall infections, and estimated losses of at least $18 million.


title: Ransomware

text: The most recent version, CryptoWall 4.0, enhanced its code to avoid antivirus detection, and encrypts not only the data in files but also the file names.


title: Ransomware

text: Fusob is one of the major mobile ransomware families. Between April 2015 and March 2016, about 56 percent of accounted mobile ransomware was Fusob.


title: Ransomware

text: Like a typical mobile ransomware, it employs scare tactics to extort people to pay a ransom. The program pretends to be an accusatory authority, demanding the victim to pay a fine from $100 to $200 USD or otherwise face a fictitious charge. Rather surprisingly, Fusob suggests using iTunes gift cards for payment. Also, a timer clicking down on the screen adds to the users’ anxiety as well.


title: Ransomware

text: In order to infect devices, Fusob masquerades as a pornographic video player. Thus, victims, thinking it is harmless, unwittingly download Fusob.


title: Ransomware

text: When Fusob is installed, it first checks the language used in the device. If it uses Russian or certain Eastern European languages, Fusob does nothing. Otherwise, it proceeds on to lock the device and demand ransom. Among victims, about 40% of them are in Germany with the United Kingdom and the United States following with 14.5% and 11.4% respectively.


title: Ransomware

text: Fusob has lots in common with Small, which is another major family of mobile ransomware. They represented over 93% of mobile ransomware between 2015 and 2016.


title: Ransomware

text: In May 2017, the WannaCry ransomware attack spread through the Internet, using an exploit vector named EternalBlue, which was allegedly leaked from the U.S. National Security Agency. The ransomware attack, unprecedented in scale, infected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries, using 20 different languages to demand money from users using Bitcoin cryptocurrency. WannaCry demanded US$300 per computer. The attack affected Telefónica and several other large companies in Spain, as well as parts of the British National Health Service (NHS), where at least 16 hospitals had to turn away patients or cancel scheduled operations, FedEx, Deutsche Bahn, Honda, Renault, as well as the Russian Interior Ministry and Russian telecom MegaFon. The attackers gave their victims a 7-day deadline from the day their computers got infected, after which the encrypted files would be deleted.


title: Ransomware

text: Petya was first discovered in March 2016; unlike other forms of encrypting ransomware, the malware aimed to infect the master boot record, installing a payload which encrypts the file tables of the NTFS file system the next time that the infected system boots, blocking the system from booting into Windows at all until the ransom is paid. Check Point reported that despite what it believed to be an innovative evolution in ransomware design, it had resulted in relatively-fewer infections than other ransomware active around the same time frame.


title: Ransomware

text: On 27 June 2017, a heavily modified version of Petya was used for a global cyberattack primarily targeting Ukraine (but affecting many countries). This version had been modified to propagate using the same EternalBlue exploit that was used by WannaCry. Due to another design change, it is also unable to actually unlock a system after the ransom is paid; this led to security analysts speculating that the attack was not meant to generate illicit profit, but to simply cause disruption.


title: Ransomware

text: On 24 October 2017, some users in Russia and Ukraine reported a new ransomware attack, named "Bad Rabbit", which follows a similar pattern to WannaCry and Petya by encrypting the user's file tables and then demands a Bitcoin payment to decrypt them. ESET believed the ransomware to have been distributed by a bogus update to Adobe Flash software. Among agencies that were affected by the ransomware were: Interfax, Odesa International Airport, Kyiv Metro, and the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine. As it used corporate network structures to spread, the ransomware was also discovered in other countries, including Turkey, Germany, Poland, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Experts believed the ransomware attack was tied to the Petya attack in Ukraine (especially because Bad Rabbit's code has many overlapping and analogical elements to the code of Petya/NotPetya, appending to CrowdStrike Bad Rabbit and NotPetya's DLL (dynamic link library) share 67 percent of the same code) though the only identity to the culprits are the names of characters from the "Game of Thrones" series embedded within the code.


title: Ransomware

text: Security experts found that the ransomware did not use the EternalBlue exploit to spread, and a simple method to inoculate an unaffected machine running older Windows versions was found by 24 October 2017. Further, the sites that had been used to spread the bogus Flash updating have gone offline or removed the problematic files within a few days of its discovery, effectively killing off the spread of Bad Rabbit.


title: Ransomware

text: In 2016, a new strain of ransomware emerged that was targeting JBoss servers. This strain, named "SamSam", was found to bypass the process of phishing or illicit downloads in favor of exploiting vulnerabilities on weak servers. The malware uses a Remote Desktop Protocol brute-force attack to guess weak passwords until one is broken. The virus has been behind attacks on government and healthcare targets, with notable hacks occurring against the town of Farmington, New Mexico, the Colorado Department of Transportation, Davidson County, North Carolina, and most recently, a ransomware attack on the infrastructure of Atlanta.


title: Ransomware

text: Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri (born in Qom, Iran in 1991) and Faramarz Shahi Savandi (born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1984) are wanted by the FBI for allegedly launching SamSam ransomware. The two have allegedly made $6 million from extortion and caused over $30 million in damages using the malware.


title: Ransomware

text: On May 7, 2021 a cyberattack was executed on the US Colonial Pipeline. The Federal Bureau of Investigation identified DarkSide as the perpetrator of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, perpetrated by malicious code, that led to a voluntary shutdown of the main pipeline supplying 45% of fuel to the East Coast of the United States. The attack was described as the worst cyberattack to date on U.S. critical infrastructure. DarkSide successfully extorted about 75 Bitcoin (almost US$5 million) from Colonial Pipeline. U.S. officials are investigating whether the attack was purely criminal or took place with the involvement of the Russian government or another state sponsor. Following the attack, DarkSide posted a statement claiming that "We are apolitical, we do not participate in geopolitics...Our goal is to make money and not creating problems for society."


title: Ransomware

text: In May 2021, the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a joint alert urging the owners and operators of critical infrastructure to take certain steps to reduce their vulnerability to DarkSide ransomware and ransomware in general.


title: Ransomware

text: Syskey is a utility that was included with Windows NT-based operating systems to encrypt the user account database, optionally with a password. The tool has sometimes been effectively used as ransomware during technical support scams—where a caller with remote access to the computer may use the tool to lock the user out of their computer with a password known only to them. Syskey was removed from later versions of Windows 10 and Windows Server in 2017, due to being obsolete and "known to be used by hackers as part of ransomware scams".


title: Ransomware

text: Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) became a notable method after the Russia-based or Russian-speaking group REvil staged operations against several targets, including the Brazil-based JBS S.A. in May 2021, and the US-based Kaseya Limited in July 2021. After a July 9, 2021 phone call between United States president Joe Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin, Biden told the press, "I made it very clear to him that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil even though it’s not sponsored by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is." Biden later added that the United States would take the group's servers down if Putin did not. Four days later, REvil websites and other infrastructure vanished from the internet.


title: Ransomware

text: If an attack is suspected or detected in its early stages, it takes some time for encryption to take place; immediate removal of the malware (a relatively simple process) before it has completed would stop further damage to data, without salvaging any already lost.


title: Ransomware

text: Security experts have suggested precautionary measures for dealing with ransomware. Using software or other security policies to block known payloads from launching will help to prevent infection, but will not protect against all attacks As such, having a proper backup solution is a critical component to defending against ransomware. Note that, because many ransomware attackers will not only encrypt the victim's live machine but it will also attempt to delete any hot backups stored locally or on accessible over the network on a NAS, it's also critical to maintain "offline" backups of data stored in locations inaccessible from any potentially infected computer, such as external storage drives or devices that do not have any access to any network (including the Internet), prevents them from being accessed by the ransomware. Moreover, if using a NAS or Cloud storage, then the computer should have append-only permission to the destination storage, such that it cannot delete or overwrite previous backups. According to comodo, applying two Attack Surface Reduction on OS/Kernel provides a materially-reduced attack surface which results in a heightened security posture.


title: Ransomware

text: Installing security updates issued by software vendors can mitigate the vulnerabilities leveraged by certain strains to propagate. Other measures include cyber hygiene − exercising caution when opening e-mail attachments and links, network segmentation, and keeping critical computers isolated from networks. Furthermore, to mitigate the spread of ransomware measures of infection control can be applied. Such may include disconnecting infected machines from all networks, educational programs, effective communication channels, malware surveillance and ways of collective participation


title: Ransomware

text: A number of file systems keep snapshots of the data they hold, which can be used to recover the contents of files from a time prior to the ransomware attack in the event the ransomware does not disable it.


title: Ransomware

text: There are a number of tools intended specifically to decrypt files locked by ransomware, although successful recovery may not be possible. If the same encryption key is used for all files, decryption tools use files for which there are both uncorrupted backups and encrypted copies (a known-plaintext attack in the jargon of cryptanalysis. But it only works when the cipher the attacker used was weak to begin with, being vulnerable to known-plaintext attack); recovery of the key, if it is possible, may take several days. Free ransomware decryption tools can help decrypt files encrypted by the following forms of ransomware: AES_NI, Alcatraz Locker, Apocalypse, BadBlock, Bart, BTCWare, Crypt888, CryptoMix, CrySiS, EncrypTile, FindZip, Globe, Hidden Tear, Jigsaw, LambdaLocker, Legion, NoobCrypt, Stampado, SZFLocker, TeslaCrypt, XData. The No More Ransom Project is an initiative by the Netherlands' police's National High Tech Crime Unit, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, Kaspersky Lab and McAfee to help ransomware victims recover their data without paying a ransom. They offer a free CryptoSheriff tool to analyze encrypted files and search for decryption tools.


title: Ransomware

text: In addition, old copies of files may exist on the disk, which has been previously deleted. In some cases, these deleted versions may still be recoverable using software designed for that purpose.


title: Ransomware

text: Ransomware malicious software was first confined to one or two countries in Eastern Europe and subsequently spread across the Atlantic to the United States and Canada. The number of cyberattacks during 2020 was double that of 2019. The first versions of this type of malware used various techniques to disable the computers by locking the victims system machine (Locker Ransomware) [133]. Ransomware uses different tactics to extort victims. One of the most common methods is locking the device's screen by displaying a message from a branch of local law enforcement alleging that the victim must pay a fine for illegal activity. The ransomware may request a payment by sending an SMS message to a premium rate number. Some similar variants of the malware display pornographic image content and demanded payment for the removal of it.


title: Ransomware

text: In 2016, a significant uptick in ransomware attacks on hospitals was noted. According to the 2017 Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec Corp, ransomware affected not only IT systems but also patient care, clinical operations, and billing. Online criminals may be motivated by the money available and sense of urgency within the healthcare system.


title: Ransomware

text: Ransomware is growing rapidly across the internet users but also for the IoT environment. The big problem is that millions of dollars are lost by some organizations and industries that have decided to pay, such as the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center and the MedStar Health.


title: Ransomware

text: According to Symantec 2019 ISTR report, for the first time since 2013, in 2018 there was an observed decrease in ransomware activity with a drop of 20 percent. Before 2017, consumers were the preferred victims, but in 2017 this changed dramatically, it moved to the enterprises. In 2018 this path accelerated with 81 percent infections which represented a 12 percent increase. The common distribution method today is based on email campaigns.


title: Ransomware

text: An effective and successful cyber awareness training program must be sponsored from the top of the organization with supporting policies and procedures which effectively outline ramifications of non-compliance, frequency of training and a process for acknowledgement of training. Without sponsorship from the “C-level” executives the training cannot be ignored.  Other factors that are key to a successful Cyber Awareness Training program is to establish a baseline identifying the level of knowledge of the organization to establish where the users are in their knowledge prior to training and after. Whichever approach an organization decides to implement, it is important that the organization has policies and procedures in place that provide training that is up to date, performed frequently and has the backing of the entire organization from the top down.


title: Ransomware

text: Investment in technology to detect and stop these threats must be maintained, but along with that we need to remember and focus on our weakest link, which is the user.


title: Ransomware

text: A British student, Zain Qaiser, from Barking, London was jailed for more than six years at Kingston Crown Court for his ransomware attacks in 2019. He is said to have been "the most prolific cyber criminal to be sentenced in the UK". He became active when he was only 17. He contacted the Russian controller of one of the most powerful attacks, believed to be the Lurk malware gang, and arranged for a split of his profits. He also contacted online criminals from China and the US to move the money. For about one and a half years, he posed as a legitimate supplier of online promotions of book advertising on some of the world's most visited legal pornography websites. Each of the adverts that was promoted on the websites contained the Reveton Ransomware strain of the malicious Angler Exploit Kit (AEK) that seized control of the machine. Investigators discovered about £700,000 of earnings, although his network may have earned more than £4m. He may have hidden some money using cryptocurrencies. The ransomware would instruct victims to buy GreenDot MoneyPak vouchers, and enter the code in the Reveton panel displayed on the screen. This money entered a MoneyPak account managed by Qaiser, who would then deposit the voucher payments into an American co-conspirator's debit card—that of Raymond Odigie Uadiale, who was then a student at Florida International University during 2012 and 2013 and later worked for Microsoft. Uadiale would convert the money into Liberty Reserve digital currency and deposit it into Qaiser's Liberty Reserve account.


title: Ransomware

text: A breakthrough in this case occurred in May 2013 when authorities from several countries seized the Liberty Reserve servers, obtaining access to all its transactions and account history. Qaiser was running encrypted virtual machines on his Macbook Pro with both Mac and Windows operating systems. He could not be tried earlier because he was sectioned under the UK Mental Health Act at Goodmayes Hospital (where he was found to be using the hospital Wi-Fi to access his advertising sites.) His lawyer claimed that Qaiser had suffered from mental illness. Russian police arrested 50 members of the Lurk malware gang in June 2016. Uadiale, a naturalized US citizen of Nigerian descent, was jailed for 18 months.


title: Ransomware

text: The publication of proof-of-concept attack code is common among academic researchers and vulnerability researchers.


title: Ransomware

text: It teaches the nature of the threat, conveys the gravity of the issues, and enables countermeasures to be devised and put into place. However, lawmakers with the support of law-enforcement bodies are contemplating making the creation of ransomware illegal. In the state of Maryland, the original draft of HB 340 made it a felony to create ransomware, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, this provision was removed from the final version of the bill.


title: Ransomware

text: Young and Yung have had the ANSI C source code to a ransomware cryptotrojan on-line, at cryptovirology.com, since 2005 as part of a cryptovirology book being written. The source code to the cryptotrojan is still live on the Internet and is


title: Raanjhanaa

text: Raanjhanaa () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Aanand L. Rai and written by Himanshu Sharma. The film is produced by Krishika Lulla under the banner of Eros International. It stars Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Swara Bhaskar. It marks the Hindi film debut for Dhanush. The film was released on 21 June 2013 worldwide, while the Tamil version titled "Ambikapathy" was released a week later.


title: Raanjhanaa

text: The background score and songs were composed by A. R. Rahman and the lyrics of the tracks were penned by Irshad Kamil. The film was released theatrically on 21 June 2013.


title: Raanjhanaa

text: Kundan Shankar (Dhanush) is the only son of Tamil Hindu Brahmin parents settled in Varanasi. While collecting donations at his teacher's house for Dussehra when he was a child, he sees Zoya (Sonam Kapoor), a Muslim girl praying in the adjacent room. He immediately falls in love with her and for years would attempt to talk to her or flirt with her, while not even knowing her name. Zoya slaps him multiple times, before getting quite fond of him and finally telling him her name. She asks him to meet her in private, and when they do she finds out that Kundan is from a Hindu Brahmin family. She starts to avoid him on purpose as her family is very orthodox, and she knows for sure that her relationship with Kundan would go nowhere. Zoya's family figures out that she likes a Hindu boy, and decide to send her away to Aligarh for further studies. After she leaves, Kundan tries to get on her family's good side by helping them with chores around their house. Zoya gets into Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and starts making new friends, falling for student leader Akram Zaidi (Abhay Deol).


title: Raanjhanaa

text: Eight years later, Zoya comes back home to Varanasi. Kundan cannot contain his excitement, but Zoya barely remembers him. He asks her to be with him but she declines and tells him about her relationship with Akram. She asks Kundan to help convince her family about marrying Akram, and Kundan eventually agrees to get her wedding arranged. He promises Zoya that he will also marry someone on the day of her wedding and forget all about her, and goes straight to his childhood friend Bindiya (Swara Bhaskar), who has had a crush on him since they were kids.


title: Raanjhanaa

text: On the day of Zoya's wedding, Kundan finds out that Akram is a Sikh and his real name is Jasjeet Singh Shergill. This enrages him, as Zoya had used him and Kundan's religious differences to convince Kundan that she could not marry him. He crashes their wedding ceremony and tells Zoya's parents the truth about Jasjeet. He finds out soon after that Zoya tried to commit suicide, and Jasjeet was beaten up by Zoya's relatives for lying. At the hospital, Jasjeet tells Kundan that it was Zoya's idea for him to pretend to be a Muslim so he could marry her, a plan he knew he should not have agreed to. While with Jasjeet, Kundan forgets about his own wedding ceremony with Bindiya and is too late when he finally returns. Hurt and angry, Kundan's family disowns him. Jasjeet's parents take him back to their village, and Kundan tries to redeem himself with Zoya by taking her there with him. There, he is devastated to find out that Jasjeet died from his injuries, and he realises that his one-sided love for Zoya resulted in an innocent man's death.


title: Raanjhanaa

text: Now homeless, Kundan begins visiting other religious places around the country and volunteering in their activities to atone for his sins. On one of these visits, a man advises him to do the right thing instead of running away. This motivates Kundan to find Zoya, who is back at her university spearheading Jasjeet's political party, the All India Citizen Party (AICP). Kundan joins the party, bringing them snacks and tidying up after them, to get Zoya's attention. Over time, he becomes popular with the party due to his simple wit and charm. They are also impressed when Kundan helps them negotiate tough situations with his intelligence. However, Zoya holds a grudge that the person who is responsible for Jasjeet's death is now taking his place. She tries to instigate party members against Kundan but Jasjeet's sister Rashmi (Shilpi Marwaha) suggests that they must continue with Kundan, as he is the best choice for fulfilling Jasjeet's vision, and apparently the party's last hope too.