![]() Others would say that the NCA has picked up only low-hanging fruit in its 660 arrests, identifying the dumb ones – the people who use anonymity tools inexpertly or maybe not at all. But it may also be the case that the security software currently available is so difficult to use that, in practice, anyone will indeed make mistakes. ![]() And in the context of child porn, it would be reassuring if it were right. The NCA is clearly saying that it can find you, even if you are using the dark net. It made a similar statement after arresting four people suspected of being involved in drug selling through now-defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road, warning that even the most tech-savvy criminals make mistakes and leave traces. There was a clear message sent out to wrongdoers in the official press release, though: “We want those offenders to know that the internet is not a safe anonymous space for accessing indecent images, that they leave a digital footprint, and that law enforcement will find it”. ![]() The agency also said that it would not reveal how it identified the suspects so that it could use the same method to track them down in the future. Hundreds of people suspected of crimes could soon be under lock and key thanks to its efforts. When the National Crime Agency made its big announcement about Operation Notarise, it was obviously good news. We should also treat the NCA bust with some scepticism, given its very convenient political timing. The announcement raises questions about just how anonymous it is possible to be online, particularly in the dark net and through systems like Tor, which is used by criminals, but also many others with legitimate reasons for wanting to remain anonymous such as journalists, whistleblowers, and political activists under repressive regimes. MalwareMustDie researchers have been urging law enforcement agencies around the world to start an investigation into the matter.Have the UK police successfully broken anonymity on the internet? They certainly seemed to imply as much when the National Crime Agency proudly announced last week that it had made 660 arrests after an operation to identify people viewing indecent images of children online. But, it seems that some of them have part of the malware’s source code, and are aiming at finishing what he started. Nevertheless, at least some of the forum posters believe that the researchers are getting closer to the developer, and speculate about him disappearing. The ICQ account has a name associated with it, but it’s quite possible that it’s a fake one. These discussions have been ongoing since November 2013, and MalwareMustDie has apparently managed to tie the developer to an ICQ, a TorChat and a Jabber account, several email addresses, and to a Twitter account in which he says he is a “security enthusiast, novice infosec / malware researchers and cybercrime analyst”, and that he has C/C++ knowledge (Power Locker is written in these two programming languages). The Windows and Escape keys are disabled, several Windows processes are disabled, and the malware prevents users from returning to the initial desktop.Īccording to the developer, the malware uses different anti VM and debugger techniques to make its analysis difficult for security researchers. Each of these keys (one for each file) is then encrypted with RSA 2048, which in practice means that it’s impossible to break the encryption.Ī locker module is then created, which spawns a new desktop and displays the ransom note in it. If his claims are to be believed, Power Locker is capable of encrypting all files he finds on the target computer – except system ones and executables – with the Blowfish cipher algorithm. The developer of the malware has dubbed his creation Prison Locker and later changed the name to Power Locker, and has been sharing his progress and details about the malware’s capabilities in order to drum up interest. White-hat security research workgroup MalwareMustDie has been following discussions on underground crime forums regarding a new piece of ransomware currently being developed, which will apparently be put on sale for as little as $100. As disruptive as Cryptolocker is, there’s a possibility that an even deadlier type of ransomware will soon be targeting unsuspecting users.
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