Kaspersky wants help cracking Gauss' hidden payload

Kaspersky Lab on Aug. 14 made an open request for assistance from cryptographers around the globe to help it break the encryption of a "warhead" delivered by the recently uncovered Gauss malware, reports Computerworld.

Despite repeated attempts to break the encryption of the hidden payload, the Moscow-based security company was unsuccessful, Kaspersky said in a blog post.

The payload is one of the intriguing unknowns of Gauss, which is designed to monitor financial transactions with Middle Eastern banks, the story said.

While Kaspersky has figured out that the payload is delivered via USB flash drives, it was unsuccessful in repeated attempts to decrypt the module, which is encrypted with an RC4 key, the story said. The flash drives enable the malware to bridge the gap between the Internet and PCs not connected to the Web.