Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is arguing against claims that ransomware images are being spread through its services.
A report from researchers at Check Point claims that Facebook Inc and LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) helped ransomware images spread due to how they handle them. However, FB argues that the real culprit is bad extensions for Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOG,GOOGL) Google Chrome web browser.
“This analysis is incorrect. There is no connection to Locky or any other ransomware, and this is not appearing on Messenger or Facebook,” a Facebook Inc spokesperson told Engadget. “We investigated these reports and discovered there were several bad Chrome extensions, which we have been blocking for nearly a week. We also reported the bad browser extensions to the appropriate parties.”
The report from Check Point claims that the ransomware images are able to take over a person’s computer the moment the user downloads them. This reportedly allows the ransomware to encrypt a person’s files and demand money before giving the person access back to them.
The ransomware images from the Check Point report are said to be a variant of the Locky ransomware. Check Point claims it told Facebook Inc and LinkedIn Corp about the issue in September, reports Engadget.
Check Point says it won’t be releasing the full details of its report, yet. It is waiting for websites that it claims are being targeted by the rasomware images to fix issues first. This is to prevent hackers from using the exploit to hurt more users of those services.
