TeslaCrypt ransomware now impossible to crack, researchers say

The latest version of the TeslaCrypt ransomware has tidied up a weakness in previous versions that in some cases allowed victims to recover their files without paying a ransom.

Cisco's Talos research group found that TeslaCrypt 3.0.1 has improved its implementation of a cryptographic algorithm making it impossible now to decrypt files.

"We can not say it loud and often enough, ransomware has become the black plague of the internet," wrote Andrea Allievi and Holger Unterbrink, both security researchers with Cisco, in a blog post on Wednesday. "The adversaries are modifying and improving it in every version."

Homeland Security wants to use Facebook in visa reviews

The Department of Homeland Security is working on a new plan for incorporating social media posts into visa reviews, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The details of the new plan are unclear, but the Journal describes it as part of a new focus on social media for the department, which has traditionally focused on legal records in the visa application process.