Ransom.MSIL.HAKBIT.F

 Analysis by: Karen Ivy Titiwa

 ALIASES:

Mal/Hakbit-A (SOPHOS_LITE); HEUR:Trojan.MSIL.DelShad.gen(KASPERSKY)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 DAMAGE POTENTIAL:
 DISTRIBUTION POTENTIAL:
 REPORTED INFECTION:
 INFORMATION EXPOSURE:

  • Threat Type: Ransomware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Downloaded from the Internet


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 executes then deletes itself afterward.

It encrypts files with specific file extensions. It drops files as ransom note.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

66,560 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

15 Jun 2020

Payload:

Encrypts files, Displays message/message boxes

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:

  • %User Temp%\{random file name}.exe
  • %User Startup%\mystartup.lnk → points to %User Temp%\HELP_ME_RECOVER_MY_FILES.txt

(Note: %User Temp% is the current user's Temp folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).. %User Startup% is the current user's Startup folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows NT, C:\Documents and Settings\{User name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows 2003(32-bit), XP and 2000(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit), 10(64-bit).)

It adds the following processes:

  • %User Startup%\{malware name}.exe
  • cmd.exe /C ping 127.0.0.7 -n 3 > Nul & fsutil file setZeroData offset=0 length=524288 “%s” & Del /f /q “%s”
  • ping 127.0.0.7 -n 3
  • net.exe stop avpsus /y
  • net.exe stop McAfeeDLPAgentService /y
  • net.exe stop mfewc /y
  • net.exe stop BMR Boot Service /y
  • net.exe stop NetBackup BMR MTFTP Service /y
  • net.exe stop DefWatch /y
  • net.exe stop ccEvtMgr /y
  • net.exe stop ccSetMgr /y
  • net.exe stop SavRoam /y
  • net.exe stop RTVscan /y
  • net.exe stop QBFCService /y
  • net.exe stop QBIDPService /y
  • net.exe stop Intuit.QuickBooks.FCS /y
  • net.exe stop QBCFMonitorService /y
  • net.exe stop YooBackup /y
  • net.exe stop YooIT /y
  • net.exe stop zhudongfangyu /y
  • net.exe stop stc_raw_agent /y
  • net.exe stop VSNAPVSS /y
  • net.exe stop VeeamTransportSvc /y
  • net.exe stop VeeamDeploymentService /y
  • net.exe stop VeeamNFSSvc /y
  • net.exe stop veeam /y
  • net.exe stop PDVFSService /y
  • net.exe stop BackupExecVSSProvider /y
  • net.exe stop BackupExecAgentAccelerator /y
  • net.exe stop BackupExecAgentBrowser /y
  • net.exe stop BackupExecDiveciMediaService /y
  • net.exe stop BackupExecJobEngine /y
  • net.exe stop BackupExecManagementService /y
  • net.exe stop BackupExecRPCService /y
  • net.exe stop AcrSch2Svc /y
  • net.exe stop AcronisAgent /y
  • net.exe stop CASAD2DWebSvc /y
  • net.exe stop CAARCUpdateSvc /y
  • net.exe stop sophos /y
  • net.exe stop sophos /y;
  • sc.exe config SQLTELEMETRY start= disabled;
  • sc.exe config SQLTELEMETRY$ECWDB2 start= disabled;
  • sc.exe config SQLWriter start= disabled;
  • sc.exe config SstpSvc start= disabled;
  • choice /C Y /N /D Y /T 3 ;
  • taskkill.exe /IM mspub.exe /F;
  • taskkill.exe /IM mydesktopqos.exe /F;
  • taskkill.exe /IM mydesktopservice.exe /F;
  • vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /all /quiet;
  • vssadmin.exe resize shadowstorage /for=c: /on={drive c to h}: /maxsize=401MB;
  • vssadmin.exe resize shadowstorage /for=c: /on={drive c to h}: /maxsize=unbounded;
  • vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /all /quiet;
  • cmd.exe /c rd /s /q %SYSTEMDRIVE%\$Recycle.bin;
  • arp -a;
  • DEL /s /f /q {drive letter}:\*.VHD {drive letter}:\*.bac {drive letter}:\*.bak {drive letter}:\*.wbcat {drive letter}:\*.bkf {drive letter}:\Backup*.* c:\backup*.* {drive letter}:\*.set {drive letter}:\*.win {drive letter}:\*.dsk

(Note: %User Startup% is the current user's Startup folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows NT, C:\Documents and Settings\{User name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows 2003(32-bit), XP and 2000(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit), 10(64-bit).)

It executes then deletes itself afterward.

Autostart Technique

This Ransomware drops the following file(s) in the Windows User Startup folder to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

    • %User Startup%\{malware name}.exe where {malware name} is any of the following:
    • lsass.exe
    • svchst.exe
    • crcss.exe
    • chrome32.exe
    • firefox.exe
    • calc.exe
    • mysqld.exe
    • dllhst.exe
    • opera32.exe
    • memop.exe
    • spoolcv.exe
    • ctfmom.exe
    • SkypeApp.exe

(Note: %User Startup% is the current user's Startup folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows NT, C:\Documents and Settings\{User name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows 2003(32-bit), XP and 2000(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit), 10(64-bit).)

Ransomware Routine

This Ransomware encrypts files with the following extensions:

  • cpp
  • rar
  • zip
  • html
  • htm
  • xls
  • av
  • mp4
  • ppt
  • doc
  • sx
  • sxw
  • odt
  • hwp
  • tar
  • bz2
  • mkv
  • eml
  • msg
  • ost
  • pst
  • edb
  • sql
  • accdb
  • mdb
  • dbf
  • odb
  • myd
  • java
  • pas
  • asm
  • key
  • pfx
  • pem
  • p12
  • csr
  • gpg
  • aes
  • vsd
  • odg
  • raw
  • nef
  • svg
  • psd
  • vmx
  • vmdk
  • vd
  • lay6
  • sqlite3
  • sqlitedb
  • class
  • mpeg
  • djvu
  • tiff
  • backup
  • cert
  • docm
  • xlsm
  • dwg
  • bak
  • qbw
  • nd
  • tlg
  • lgb
  • pptx
  • mov
  • xdw

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

  • .crypted

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

  • %User Temp%\HELP_ME_RECOVER_MY_FILES.txt

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.850

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

15.950.02

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

24 Jun 2020

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

15.951.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

25 Jun 2020

Step 1

Trend Micro Predictive Machine Learning detects and blocks malware at the first sign of its existence, before it executes on your system. When enabled, your Trend Micro product detects this malware under the following machine learning name:

     
    • Troj.Win32.TRX.XXPE50FFF036

Step 2

Before doing any scans, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 users must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of their computers.

Step 3

Note that not all files, folders, and registry keys and entries are installed on your computer during this malware's/spyware's/grayware's execution. This may be due to incomplete installation or other operating system conditions. If you do not find the same files/folders/registry information, please proceed to the next step.

Step 4

Restart in Safe Mode

[ Learn More ]

Step 5

Identify and terminate files detected as Ransom.MSIL.HAKBIT.F

[ Learn More ]
  1. Windows Task Manager may not display all running processes. In this case, please use a third-party process viewer, preferably Process Explorer, to terminate the malware/grayware/spyware file. You may download the said tool here.
  2. If the detected file is displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer but you cannot delete it, restart your computer in safe mode. To do this, refer to this link for the complete steps.
  3. If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.

Step 6

Search and delete this file

[ Learn More ]
There may be some files that are hidden. Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the "More advanced options" option to include all hidden files and folders in the search result.
  • %User Startup%\{malware name}.exe;
  • %User Temp%\HELP_ME_RECOVER_MY_FILES.txt
  • %User Temp%\{random file name}.exe
  • %User Startup%\mystartup.lnk

Step 7

Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as Ransom.MSIL.HAKBIT.F. If the detected files have already been cleaned, deleted, or quarantined by your Trend Micro product, no further step is required. You may opt to simply delete the quarantined files. Please check this Knowledge Base page for more information.

Step 8

Restore encrypted files from backup.


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