Ransom.Win32.FONIX.A

This Ransomware arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

It drops files as ransom note. It avoids encrypting files with the following file extensions.

Arrival Details

This Ransomware arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

Installation

This Ransomware drops the following files:

• {Malware Path}\systemid
• {Malware Path}\cpriv.key
• {Malware Path}\cpub.key
• %Application Data%\cpriv.key
• %Application Data%\cpub.key
• %Application Data%\systemid

(Note: %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).)

It adds the following processes:

• reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
• reg add \"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\" /v DisableAntiSpyware /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
• reg delete HKEY_CURRENT_USER\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot /va /F
• reg delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot /va /F
• cmd.exe /c vssadmin Delete Shadows /All /Quiet & wmic shadowcopy delete & bcdedit /set {default} boostatuspolicy ignoreallfailures & bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled no & wbadmin delete catalog -quiet/ & icacls * /grant Everyone:(OI)(CI)F /T /C /Q
• schtasks /CREATE /SC ONLOGON /TN fonix /TR %temp%/FonixCrypter.exe /RU SYSTEM /RL HIGHEST /F
• reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\ /v \"PhoenixTechnology\" /t REG_SZ /d %temp%FonixCrypter.exe /f
• reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\ /v \"PhoenixTechnology\" /t REG_SZ /d %temp%FonixCrypter.exe /f
• reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\ /v \"PhoenixTechnology\" /t REG_SZ /d %temp%FonixCrypter.exe /f
• reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\ /v \"PhoenixTechnology\" /t REG_SZ /d %temp%FonixCrypter.exe /f

It adds the following mutexes to ensure that only one of its copies runs at any one time:

• FakeMutex
• FonixCryptServiceMUTEX

Process Termination

This Ransomware terminates the following processes if found running in the affected system's memory:

• sqlservr.exe
• msftesql.exe
• sqlagent.exe
• sqlbrowser.exe
• sqlwriter.exe
• oracle.exe
• ocssd.exe
• dbsnmp.exe
• synctime.exe
• mydesktopqos.exe
• agntsvc.exe
• isqlpplussvc.exe
• isqlpussvc.exe
• xfssvccon.exe
• mydesktopservice.exe
• ocautoupds.exe
• encsvc.exe
• firefoxconfig.exe
• tbirdconfig.exe
• ocomm.exe
• mysqld.exe
• mysqld-nt.exe
• mysqld-opt.exe
• dbeng50.exe
• sqbcoreservice.exe
• excel.exe
• infopath.exe
• msaccess.exe
• mspub.exe
• onenote.exe
• outlook.exe
• powerpnt.exe
• stream.exe
• thebat.exe
• thebat64.exe
• Thunderbird.exe
• visio.exe
• winword.exe
• wordpad.exe
• notepad.exe
• paint.exe
• notepad++.exe
• endnote.exe
• vmwareuser.exe
• vmwareservice.exe
• vboxservice.exe
• vboxtray.exe
• Sandboxiedcomlaunch.exe
• procmon.exe
• regmon.exe
• filemon.exe
• wireshark.exe
• netmon.exe
• ntoskrnl.exe
• vmtoolsd.exe

Ransomware Routine

This Ransomware avoids encrypting files with the following strings in their file name:

• SytemID
• Boot
• boot
• BOOT
• SYSTEM

It appends the following extension to the file name of the encrypted files:

• .EMAIL=[fonix@tuta.io]ID=[{ID}].Fonix

It drops the following file(s) as ransom note:

• {Path of Encrypted File}\# How To Decrypt Files #.hta
• 

It avoids encrypting files with the following file extensions:

• .exe
• .dll
• .sys
• .ini
• .cfg
• .bin
• .msi
• .efi
• .sti
• .reg
• .EXE
• .ecs
• .ocx
• .cpl
• .xslt
• .config
• .DLL
• .boot
• .INI
• .CFG