Ransom_GANDCRAB.TIAOBHE

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 modifies the Internet Explorer Zone Settings.

It is capable of encrypting files in the affected system.

It drops files as ransom note.

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 copies of itself into the affected system:

• %Application Data%\Microsoft\{6 random character}.exe

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

Autostart Technique

This Ransomware modifies the following registry entry(ies) to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
{11 random characters} = %Application Data%\Microsoft\{6 random character}.exe

Web Browser Home Page and Search Page Modification

This Ransomware modifies the Internet Explorer Zone Settings.

Other Details

This Ransomware connects to the following URL(s) to get the affected system's IP address:

• http://ipv4bot.whatismyipaddress.com/

It connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.167.149
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.118.42

It is capable of encrypting files in the affected system.

Ransomware Routine

This Ransomware appends the following extension to the file name of the encrypted files:

• .CRAB

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

• {encrypted folder}\CRAB-DECRYPT.txt