TeslaCrypt flaw opens the door to free file decryption

Venustus

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Researchers have discovered that TeslaCrypt contains an inherent design flaw which has granted an avenue for the development of free decryption tools.

Security researcher Lawrence Abrams explained in a blog post this week that a number of former victims and researchers have been working together for the past month to exploit a flaw in TeslaCrypt's encryption key storage algorithm. While this was kept quiet to prevent the malware's creator catching on and patching the flaw, now TeslaCrypt 3.0 has been released, the group have decided to release their findings.

The design flaw affects TeslaCrypt and variants of TeslaCrypt 2.0, giving victims of these strains the hope of decrypting their machines and files without giving in to the malware creator's demands.


Further Reading
 
While preparation (e.g. backups) and prevention (e.g. proper computing habits) guarantee a great level of protection against ransomware, it wouldn't hurt to also have some tools to attempt to reverse the damage in cases where the two aforementioned practices were overlooked by the user or bypassed by the malware.

Congratulations to the researchers and any contributors to the developments in combating TelsaCrypt!