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Russian Police Know Who Wrote Gpcode Virus
rifles only writes "Russian police
almost certainly know the identity of the programmer responsible for the frightening 'ransomware' crypto virus, Gpcode, which has hit the Internet several times since 2006, says a story at Techworld, which has tapped a Kaspersky Lab researcher. Gpcode used 1024-bit RSA/128-bit RC4 to lock up victims' data, an uncrackable combination that left the world with only one solution: find the virus author to get the master key. So why don't the cops do anything? Good question, but this is Russia we're talking about."
. . . virus encrypts you!
Why is this thus? What is the reason for this thusness?
Who is to say that Russian authorities are not using this coder as a cover for much more malicious activities? All we know is that there is a virus that encrypts your data. What is it that we don't know yet?
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"Good question, but this is Russia we're talking about." ?? Someone care to enlighten me what that was about?
Simple. They have an ulterior motive in not dragging his ass to prison. That or they're lying. Or lazy.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
> Good question, but this is Russia we're talking about.
Yeah, these damn Russkis, I am still shaking from the Sclarov incident .. ugh, wait .. nevermind.
And when the cops assigned a whole army to stop Jimmy, what did he do?
He made them partners.
-Peter
I'm not sure it's relevant who at Techworld is tapping who at Kaspersky Labs
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
"According to Kaspersky, stopping ransomware-based malware in the future will require more effective law enforcement, the use of forensic software analysis to tie suspects to their malevolent creations, and possibly building restrictions into the Windows cryptographic software libraries used to create Gpcode itself."
This concerns me more than what the cops do as pointed out in the story there's the difficulty of getting the money back to the ransomware author.
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
They'll never catch me, HAHAHA! /mnt/cppp/super_secret_files /mnt/cppp/putins_wife.jpeg -a 1024 --key="motherland"
# encrypt
Go go Gadget Nailgun!
hQIOA9E1fHW L3Cs+EAf+ LWFxdp1PrTde8Qie 1RCbJcYw+wje0tBapGwhioSd8+yQ /2+iF7/2ht/yAmNQm 4dX6v1BaHSHccN RTCsa74Rq58BfYKAJm2AEf/
1HgIDg7 zfLYXpPL4Pqlv FvyE810ZzpfzhcI2WhNI2O 1TT6pl8nXeEWbDr39TOXCf
FNBkdmXnkZ
gI0eKtXH SUiCT 8MBdee+BfO3iVLaBGTTcT ioI6Ax45ODsz5zColQz0VJb99LmjGw
AGVLf4dMLxm8WpZb Ni7RX8WLACnJAP t5MNhOee/J4 vwohQDrfQpux85HKsbQ6nFm
6Q5HKf4 l68DyPo yYvuvNSg0TlYov03G xYxEA6T4xAwgAi7ahv huEhPFexhNru/S
This highly interesting post has automatically been encrypted.
Please Paypal-send 10$ to john.doe@gmail.com to read it!
Theres a world of difference between knowing who did something, and having enough proof to be able to arrest them, charge them and convict them.
.. as the nose on your primate face. V. Putin. Absolutely nothing gets done without his approval or wish. They probably think of the virus author as a kind of "munition" worth keeping under cover. Remember when PGP was considered a "munition" in the US?
Conservative, mod down for violating
That's a good point someone brought up. In the situation of ransom, how
will it ever work?
If large amount of funds are transferred by bank, they can
find and freeze the bank account.
If large amount of funds are transferred in cash,
the money can be traced so you would be caught if you use it.
So What is the the point in ransoming in the current era? There must be
something I am missing.
It is implied that in Russia there are no rights, if the government wants something or someone it doesn't think twice about getting it regardless of the ramifications.
Of course that is not much different from Western Countries, we just like to pretend otherwise.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Isn't the master code the only leverage he has with whoever the virus writer's dealing with? Without it or giving out easily he is as good as dead.
Ransomware crypto is not that effective: Backups are good, and the problem is payment is traceable.
And RC4 isn't good for ransomware crypto, it IS broken, badly so.
Test your net with Netalyzr
The trojan and encryption could be written by any reasonably savvy malware author, but I guess laundering the money you receive would require a certain level of criminal knowledge.
The money goes into an e-gold or Liberty Reserve account, presumably one that has been stolen from a legitimate user, and from there somehow it has to get into the hands of the perpetrator.
If the authorities could track the money after it gets into e-gold (they have tried before) they could get a handle on who is behind this.
This kind of thing will become more widespread so long as the perps can get their hands on the money without being found.
1. Move to Russia
2. Create virus that encrypts helpless users' data
3. ???
4. Profit!
wtf? was this supposed to be a joke? your xenophobia was at least a bit funny when it was parodying as a joke and not as blatant xenophobia announced thru headlines.
Is this Russia? This isn't Russia.
Does it only encrypt things in my ~/ or is my entire / at risk? Does it include a local privilege escalation exploit? What kernels does it affect?! ...stupid windows users.
They should lock him, er, excuse me, it up in one of their famous gulags. Make him carry huge rocks from one spot to another, and then back again. Don't let him leave until he verbally tells them the master key. I don't care if he'll have to look it up in his computer. They should keep him there until he verbally tells them the key.
McCain/Palin '08. Now THAT's hope and change!
Did you go and leave your tinfoil hat at home again? The tinfoil taped around your finger wasn't enough of a reminder, huh?
The only one that works pretty much ALWAYS in Russia: bribe cops to get the name, go and beat the hell out of him. This is a historical fact, and the only proven method that works in that country.
Claim to be a victim, then claim to have discovered the decryption key with a "lucky guess". Then you can charge for the key without problems. Put it on ebay!
All that is required to stop ransomware is: 1) don't run malware. 2) back up, in case you forget to do step 1 or have other problems (malware isn't the only cause of data loss).
Their last suggestion (requiring some people to use broken crypto and hoping that criminals choose to use that broken crypto) is particularly amusing.
If they can trivially catch this particular criminal, fine. But he's not worth much effort.
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
If this ransomware encrypts one of my files, and I have access to a backup of the encrypted file, then how hard would it be to derive the encryption key?
(Not that i need the key to decrypt my data, but rater start my Kaspersky undercutters business)
I'm putting my money on the fact that they *don't* know the identity of the programmer but have a pretty short list all of whom are under surveillance. Saying they know who it is might provoke some panic reaction on the programmer's part like, say, running out of the house with a suitcase and a terrified gaze. The rest is future history.
The guy regularly pays taxes on the loot.
It's funny to mention there is no police in Russia, It's actually called militia :)
My son, the war criminal.
you had me at #!
We non-Americans mock the insane crackers who would make Palin VP, actually elected Bush and Cheney twice - while we had to endure the global destruction, catastrophe and erosion of rights that ensued - Xenophobia? America hate? Or sober commentary on the state of America?
you had me at #!
"So why don't the cops do anything?"
Good one. And why didn't the US authorities do anything about the SubSeven author or several others I'm certain they knew about?
I don't have an answer. Neither do they.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
I mean, if this WERE true, who would think that, say, the US wouldn't keep a script kiddie safe from international law "because he's a US citizen"?
Given how they've treated the requests to have serving men and women from the armed forces to be present at a criminal investigation gives a likely answer.
"Good question, but this is Russia we're talking about." ?? Someone care to enlighten me what that was about?
To give you an example, I have a client who had bought servers last year and put them in a datacenter in Moscow. Eventually the project they were intended for didn't work out, so they tried to ship them back to their HQ in western Europe. The bribes requested to get it past the customs were so high that they gave up on that. Selling them on the local market looked like it was going to be a PITA, for both logistical and accounting reasons, so the servers are rotting away.
that they've already stormed his house and killed him.
Oh come on, it's a joke! Have you seen how their police handle hostage situations?
use your turn signal! you people act like it's divulging information to the enemy
"So why don't the cops do anything? Good question, but this is Russia we're talking about."
Wow, that's great journalism there. Really speaks out with a sense of unbiased, facts-only wordage there.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
It's a great treatment of this precise topic.
Check it out here:
Malicious Cryptography: Exposing Cryptovirology
It's an excellent book on the topic, with plenty of technical descriptions and the problems associated with the idea.
So, what are you saying? Are you saying that if he shacks up... goes under cover... um... takes up residence in Alabama and infects, umm, knocks up... um impregnates an AlaBAMian that there will be a new case of ... CryptoSpyRidium on our hands? (bada boom)...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Cause I'm pretty sure you'd have a good chance at a known plaintext attack... being that it's your freakin' data and all.
How we know is more important than what we know.
"Gpcode used 1024-bit RSA/128-bit RC4 to lock up victims' data, an uncrackable combination that left the world with only one solution: find the virus author to get the master key."
What about learning to do backups?
Was this your right hand or left hand?
"All your home folder are belong to us" in Russian?
Never monkey with another monkey's monkey.
Thats it, im going to have bad dreams for weeks now.
Dern Russians
"Thats it, im going to have bad dreams for weeks now."
My work here is complete.
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
[...]Gpcode used 1024-bit RSA/128-bit RC4 to lock up victims' data, an uncrackable combination that left the world with only one solution: find the virus author to get the master key.[...]
Reminds me of a program that steals your password, then prints it out on your printer. Same type of humor, if that.
nonconformity at work