The Hindu : International : Virus extortion plot causes worry

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 25, 2005

International

International

Virus extortion plot causes worry

WASHINGTON: Computer users already anxious about viruses and identity theft have new reason to worry: Hackers have found a way to lock up the electronic documents on your computer and demand $200 over the Internet 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 using the address later demanded $200 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 an expert. The FBI said the scheme was unlike other Internet extortion crimes. Leading security and antivirus firms this week were updating protective software to guard against it, which experts dubbed ``ransom-ware.'' ``This seems fully malicious,'' said Joe Stewart, a researcher who studied the attack software. Mr. Stewart managed to unlock the infected files without paying , but he worries that improved versions might be more difficult to overcome. — AP

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