Ransomware returns
Trojan hides personal data, demands money with menaces.
A new version of a ransomware trojan has been sighted, recalling the warnings of two years ago when similar items first
began to strike users, that this type of attack was likely to become commonplace. The latest trojan claims to
encrypt files using the RSA 4096 algorithm, considered all but impossible to break, but in fact uses
far simpler encryption and presents little problem to experts.
The trojan, dubbed
Virus.Win32.Gpcode.ai by
Kaspersky and Trj/Sinowal.FY by Panda, carries a threatening message demanding $300 for the return
of data encrypted in the attack, and claims that should the victim refuse to pay their information will be
published on the internet. It also includes a link to a Wikipedia article on the RSA 4096 encryption
method. However, according to Kaspersky Labs, no data is in fact removed from the machine and encryption
protecting stolen files is actually far from uncrackable.
Decryption systems have been developed to rescue stolen data, and all users are advised never to respond to
blackmail and ransom demands from malware, and to keep important data safely backed up. Details on the latest
scam are here (at Kaspersky) or
here (at Panda).
19 July 2007
Tags:
kaspersky, ransomware, trojan.
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