BKA malware shocks victims with child pornography

The BKA trojan now has added illegal content
Source: Bundeskriminalamt Ransomware has taken a disturbing step forward by including illegal content in its demands. The German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) are warning of a new piece of malware that accuses victims of distributing child pornography and demands payment of a fine. As is typical, the accusation is lent a spurious whiff of officialdom by displaying the logos of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the German Society for the Prosecution of Copyright Infringement (GVU) and instructs victims to pay a €100 (approximately £85) fine to unlock their computers.

The new twist is that the malware also displays a child pornography image alongside the typical allegations that the infected computer has been used to distribute child pornography or for terrorist purposes, that it infringes copyright or has been utilised for other criminal acts. The BKA, which is roughly equivalent to the CID in the UK, and the BSI have also pointed out that saving or distributing the image would constitute illegal possession of child pornography.

The two agencies are calling on affected users not to pay the requested fee and not to save the photograph. They also refer users to the German Anti-Botnet Advice Centre and advise them to keep their operating systems and anti-virus software up to date in order to prevent infection.

The H has yet to come across any reports of a similar tactic being adopted by versions of ransomware outside Germany.

See also:

• BKA trojan goes on an international holiday, a report from The H.
  
• Localised ransomware identified by Microsoft, a report from The H.

(fab)