Antivirus software vendor Kaspersky is launching an international effort to try to crack the encryption used in a "blackmailer" virus that locks up data on a victim's computer.
The company announced the "Stop the Gpcode Virus" initiative Monday and extended a public invitation to all cryptography experts and other researchers, saying it has sufficient information about the virus to enable experts to begin working on factoring the RSA key.
Kaspersky also created a special forum for the effort.
Kaspersky Lab said last week that it detected a new version of the ransomware type of Gpcode Virus that essentially holds your data hostage until you pay up. It encrypts files on the hard drive using an RSA algorithm with a 1024-bit key and leaves a message that advises the victim to buy a decryptor and provides an e-mail address to contact.
Kaspersky detects the new variant but is unable to crack the encryption key and has analysts working on that. The virus is rated a "moderate risk."
The Gpcode Virus was first detected in 2006. "Two years ago we were able to get the private key by detailed analysis of the data at our disposal," Kasperky Lab explained in a blog posting. "However, the maximum RSA key length we've been able to 'crack' to date is 660 bits. We were able to do this as the author had made some mistakes when implementing the encryption algorithm."
The encryption strength grows exponentially the more bits it has.
People who believe their computers have been infected with the virus are advised not to restart or power down the machines. They should send an e-mail to stopgpcode@kaspersky.com with details of the infection.
This is a screenshot taken of the message that pops up when a computer is infected with the Gpcode virus.
(Credit: Kaspersky )
Talk about viral marketing (or, in this case, antiviral marketing). Someone's gone and made a rap video about the Kaspersky Internet Security suite and posted it to YouTube. And they're not alone. Security vendor Kaspersky is running a contest in the U.S. and Canada asking you to make a video and then upload it to a special YouTube page with appropriate tags. Every entrant will receive a "I had worms" T-shirt from Kaspersky and also be entered into a grand prize drawing for a chance to win a trip to Russia, Las Vegas, or an ocean cruise. Runners-up will win either a 42-inch TV, an Apple iPhone, or a Sony Camcorder.
So far, there are only two professionally produced videos on the Kaspersky YouTube page. One is an older man and a younger man seated on a park bench with a bunch of pigeons.
The best, however, is a rap song, "Packin the K," which includes such memorable lines as:
"On hackers,
We put the hurt-sky
We use Kaspersky
We use the K!"
And this:
"When I'm packing the K
He's attacking like a dog
So you feel safe
When you're writing your blog"
Kaspersky isn't alone. Earlier this year, Symantec announced a funny face emoticon contest for its Norton 360 product. That context ends next Monday. The Kasperksy contest, which includes a starter kit of images for use in the video, runs until December 1, 2007.
You would think that it would be virtually impossible to expand your market share in desktop security. Symantec and McAfee dominate this space followed by Trend Micro and CA, all big companies with lots of resources. As if the pool wasn't already crowded, Microsoft jumped in last year to really stir up pricing, distribution and product strategies across the industry.
As if supply-side issues weren't enough, demand-side attitudes are also changing. Lots of businesses and consumers believe that all desktop security products are commodities. Buy the lowest priced alternative and your worries are over.
Somehow, despite this highly competitive outlook, Kaspersky Lab is killing it. The company, with offices in Massachusetts and Moscow, just had its biggest quarter ever and sees more success on the horizon. In an age of pop-ups and targeted search ads, Kaspersky's success is based upon basic small-town values--sell a good product at a good price and go the extra mile on service.
This simple but effective strategy is working with:
• Retailers. Kaspersky products are now available in over 10,000 North American retail outlets. Once those green boxes are on the shelves, Kaspersky's security reputation alone seems to move inventory.
• Resellers. With every local distributor pitching Symantec or McAfee, selling Kaspersky gives resellers a way to differentiate themselves from the masses. Besides, resellers can make more on each copy of Kaspersky than they can with the big guys. More profit is always attractive.
• New markets. Kaspersky has been a staple in Eastern Europe and Germany but it is slowly penetrating Western Europe and developing markets like China.
Kaspersky has a lot of data demonstrating its product superiority. For example, it claims to respond to malicious code more frequently and effectively than other vendors. Maybe, but the company also realizes it can't sell diddly unless it gets in the door. Thus, the effort is in finding and opening as many doors as possible.
In an age of massive consolidation, media saturation, Web-based tools and marketing science, it is nice to see that good old-fashioned hard work, execution and relationship management can still win in high tech. For a company that specializes in dealing with the latest Internet threats, Kaspersky is succeeding by winning over customers one at a time.
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