Ransomware Recap: CRYPSHED Spoofs Amazon in Ransomware Campaign

Analysis of the page’s source code reveals an iframe that redirects the user to a download URL containing a JS file. Opening this file downloads and executes CRYPSHED ransomware on the user’s system.

LOCKY/FAKEGLOBE

Dealing with one ransomware variant should be dangerous enough. But what happens when a single campaign combines two of the more notorious ransomware in FAKEGLOBE and LOCKY? In August, a new wave of attacks was seen spreading a LOCKY variant using spam emails. This was followed by a new spam campaign in September that included a link to an archive that would deliver the payload.

Unlike the August campaign that involved an indiscriminate spam email, the September campaign used social engineering tactics, tricking the users into believing that the email is a legitimate bill from one of their utility providers. The email contains both a malicious attachment and a malicious link, as seen in the email sample below:

Figure 3: Spam sample containing the archived attachment

These links lead to scripts that download two different binaries. One script is responsible for downloading a variant of LOCKY (Detected by Trend Micro as RANSOM_LOCKY.TH908) with an affiliate ID of 3. The affiliate ID is then sent to LOCKY’s Command & Control (C&C) servers along with the victim ID and other information. This allows the threat actors to determine who among them will receive the payment coming from the victims, as they share the same payment infrastructure.

A second script connecting to another URL downloads an additional payload: the FAKEGLOBE or “Globe Imposter” ransomware  (Detected by Trend Micro as RANSOM_FAKEGLOBE.ASUUG), which appends the .txt extension to the names of the encrypted files and drops Read_ME.html as its ransom note:

Figure 5: Cerber Version 6 Infection Chain

As of publication, it is still unclear how the attackers were able to compromise the website. However, the links to the malware have already been taken down.

AMNESIA

Months after its peak, it seems that some ransomware operators are still trying to cash in on WannaCry's success. Amnesia (Detected by Trend Micro as RANSOM_AMNESIA) is one of the ransomware that still references WannaCry.

Amnesia uses email attachments containing PDF or zip files as its main distribution method. The ransom note, in particular, mentions WannaCry as part of its text:

Figure 6: Amnesia ransom note (Image courtesy of Malware Hunter Team)

It also appends the .wncry extension to encrypted files, adding to the WannaCry-wannabe behavior.

PARADISE

The ironically-named Paradise ransomware (Detected by Trend Micro as RANSOM_PARADISE) is a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) that seemingly uses hacked Remote Desktop services in order to gain administrative privileges, after which it will generate a key that it will use to encrypt files.

Once done with encryption, it will drop a ransom note containing an email address and instructions on how to send payment. According to the note, the amount to be paid depends on how fast the victim replies to the attacker:

Figure 7: PARADISE ransom note (Image courtesy of Bleeping Computer)

To help mitigate the impact of the ransomware mentioned in this entry, both users and enterprises can implement these best practices.