Ransomware Protection Playbook. Roger A. Grimes

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Popp's encryption routine obfuscation instead. It certainly wasn't anything close to as secure as how most digital encryption had been accomplished on computers for at least a decade before Dr. Popp's program, and much less sophisticated compared to encryption in today's ransomware variants. But the point is mostly semantic. To most victims, their data was gone and their computers were unusable.

      Along with his detailed analysis, Bates created a free trojan removal program called AIDSOUT and a free AIDSCLEAR program that would restore any renamed and moved files to their original locations and names. The late John McAfee, of McAfee Antivirus fame, gained some early national media attention in the United States by talking about the ransomware program and by saying he went around rescuing people's locked-up PCs.

      It was the publicity surrounding John McAfee's computer virus recoveries during that time that led this author to disassembling DOS computer viruses for John McAfee later that year and largely led to the author's lifetime career in cybersecurity.

      Where the various arrests happened are swapped in some news stories, but it appears he was arrested or detained in two or three different countries at some point and faced some sort of adjudication in at least two of those countries. His final release came from a UK court.

      Dr. Popp's original defense was to claim that everything he did was legal because he warned users, and they were the ones not paying for what they were legally obligated to pay. Some lawyers thought he may have a valid legal point even though it was unusual and unethical. Part of Dr. Popp's original defense fell apart because his program would also state that if users took his ransom program to another computer and allowed it to lock up that computer, that the program would then unlock the original computer so it could be used. This part of the program did not work, either intentionally or unintentionally, and both the original and additional PC would not be operational.

      Dr. Popp claimed in court proceedings and to investigators that he planned to donate all the ransom money to AIDS research. That claim would be unlikely to persuade any court and would not result in the dismissal of any pending charges. Although it must be noted that Dr. Popp really did belong to several AIDS research groups that were raising money for research, and he was involved in several AIDS educational conferences and programs. In any case, one or more judges ruled that he was unfit to stand trial, and by November 1991 he was released back to his parents a free man by UK Judge Geoffrey Rivlin.

      He faded back into relative obscurity and turned his interest back toward human anthropology. His infamous actions, which had both directly attacked and unfairly maligned AIDS researchers around the world, precluded his continued involvement in that field.

      Sometimes even an eccentric man can be a gentle man and beloved by others. Just before he died in 2007, “Dr. Joe” funded The Joseph L. Popp, Jr. Butterfly Conservatory in upstate Oneonta, New York. They have their own Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Joseph-L-Popp-Jr-Butterfly-Conservatory-119385884741701/). The butterfly operation was still in business at least until the 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns, but the main website domain is now up for sale and there aren't any Trip Advisor reviews after early January 2020 (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48333-d1755655-Reviews-Joseph_L_Popp_Jr_Butterfly_Conservatory-Oneonta_New_York.html). Some of the early reviews indicated things were looking a bit rundown and ragged before the COVID crunch, so maybe it has had its final opening.

      In his life, Dr. Popp had a few different careers, including evolutionary biologist, author, anthropologist, and butterfly lover. But his likely biggest unwanted claim to fame, something he could not escape the rest of his life, was as the father of ransomware. There are still nearly as many stories on him today as the creator of ransomware, in 2021, as there were back in 1990 when his creation was creating digital havoc. His place in history far outlived his own life.

      More information and stories on Dr. Popp and his PC Cyborg program can be found at the following resources:

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_%28Trojan_horse%29

        https://www.csoonline.com/article/3566886/a-history-of-ransomware-the-motives-and-methods-behind-these-evolving-attacks.html

        https://www.vice.com/en/article/nzpwe7/the-worlds-first-ransomware-came-on-a-floppy-disk-in-1989

        https://www.sdxcentral.com/security/definitions/case-study-aids-trojan-ransomware/

        https://www.thepitchkc.com/dr-popp-the-first-computer-virus-and-the-purpose-of-human-life-studies-in-crap-gapes-at-popular-evolution/

        https://blog.emsisoft.com/en/34742/history-of-ransomware-a-supervillain-30-years-in-the-making/

        https://www.villagevoice.com/2009/04/16/dr-popp-the-first-computer-virus-and-the-purpose-of-human-life-studies-in-crap-gapes-at-popular-evolution/

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