[IP] Latest Internet attack holds computer files hostage
Begin forwarded message:
From: GLIGOR1@xxxxxxx
Date: May 24, 2005 10:02:13 AM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: For IP: Latest Internet attack holds computer files hostage
Latest Internet attack holds computer files hostage
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Updated at 6:24 AM EDT
Associated Press
Washington — Computer users already anxious about viruses and
identity theft have new reason to worry: Hackers have found a way to
lock up electronic documents and then demand money to get them back.
Security researchers at San Diego-based Websense Inc. uncovered the
unusual extortion plot when a corporate customer they would not
identify fell victim to the infection, which encrypted files that
included documents, photographs and spreadsheets.
A ransom note left behind included an e-mail address, and the
attacker later demanded $200 (U.S.) for the digital keys to unlock
the files.
“This is equivalent to someone coming into your home, putting your
valuables in a safe and not telling you the combination,” said Oliver
Friedrichs, a security manager for Symantec Corp.
The FBI said the scheme, which appears isolated, was unlike other
Internet extortion crimes. Leading security and antivirus firms this
week were updating protective software for companies and consumers to
guard against this type of attack, which experts dubbed “ransom-ware.”
“This seems fully malicious,” said Joe Stewart, a researcher at
Chicago-based Lurhq Corp. who studied the attack software.
Mr. Stewart managed to unlock the infected computer files without
paying the extortion, but he worries that improved versions might be
more difficult to overcome.
Internet attacks commonly become more effective as they evolve over
time as hackers learn to avoid the mistakes of earlier infections.
“You would have to pay the guy, or law enforcement would have to get
his key to unencrypt the files,” Mr. Stewart said.
The latest danger adds to the risks facing beleaguered Internet
users, who must increasingly deal with categories of threats that
include spyware, viruses, worms, phishing e-mail fraud and denial of
service attacks.
FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said more familiar Internet extortion
schemes involve hackers demanding tens of thousands of dollars and
threatening to attack commercial websites, interfering with sales or
stealing customer data.
Experts said there were no widespread reports the new threat was
spreading, and the website was already shut down where the infection
originally spread. They also said the hacker's demand for payment
might be his weakness, since bank transactions can be traced easily.
“The problem is getting away with it -- you've got to send the money
somewhere,” Mr. Stewart said. “If it involves some sort of monetary
transaction, it's far easier to trace than an e-mail account.”
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