Security firm needs help cracking malware

Computerworld reports that a Russian security firm is having difficulty dealing with "ransomware'' attacks where hackers have planted malware that encrypts files and then displays a message demanding money to unlock the data.

Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow antivirus firm, recently asked for assistance from cryptographers, governmental and scientific institutions, antivirus companies and independent researchers to break a new variant of Gpcode that encrypted 143 different file types. As it deals with the threat, Kaspersky has told users that backing up data is the best way, at the moment, to sidestep such scams.

For more on ransomware:
- check out this Computerworld.com article