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Symantec Fears Ransomware on ‘Cusp’ of Infecting Wearables

Symantec fears ransomware could soon make an “evolutionary jump” to infect wearables, the Internet security company said in a Thursday blog post. Ransomware “has emerged as one of the most troublesome malware categories of our time,” it said. “The threat…

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is known for locking computers or encrypting files to trick users into handing over their money.” Ransomware is a global threat, and “with the increasing spread of connected devices,” such as smartwatches and IoT products, “ransomware may be on the cusp of another evolutionary jump forward,” it said. Symantec research has found “it would not be difficult for current-generation ransomware to make the leap from mobile phones to wearable devices such as smartwatches,” it said. “So far, we have not seen any ransomware in the wild specifically designed to target smartwatches but this situation could easily change.”