Dive Brief:

• Cisco Systems said it has shut down a system found responsible for infecting thousands of Internet users with ransomware, Reuters reported.
• The Angler Exploit Kit, which captures control of personal computers, has infected up to 40 percent of those it targeted in the past year.
• Cisco discovered about half of computers infected with Angler were connecting to servers at a hosting provider in Dallas.

Dive Insight:

Since the hosting provider, Limestone Networks, pulled the plug on the servers and turned their data over to Cisco's Talos security unit, new Angler infections have dropped significantly.

Cisco copied the authentication protocols the Angler criminals use to interact with their victims. Knowing these protocols will allow security companies to cut off infected computers, the company said.

"It's going to be really damaging to the attacker's network," Cisco Telos manager Craig Williams said.

Telos estimated the criminals that had used the Limestone servers to spread Angler could have made about $30 million a year.