Ransomware problem is "insurmountable"

ACCORDING TO PC security firm Kaspersky, incidences of 'ransomware' attacks could shortly become impossible to deal with. One Brit found that when her PC was attacked, the local police said they couldn't help because the crooks could be anywhere in the world.

Basically, ransomware is a type of virus that grabs copies of documents stored on a disk and then encrypts them.

To get the documents back requires an associated key. The ransomware's author then demands money for the key via an apparently legitimate operation.

Kaspersky reckons that the level of encryption is rising - making it far more difficult to crack. The necessary keys were formerly 330 characters long but now 660 character versions have started to appear.

"The most prominent of this sort of attack is called GPCode, and we are into about the 30th variant," claimed David Emm, a senior technology consultant with Kaspersky.

More on this story at the FT.

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