With ‘Fallout’ making headlines once again, nao sec detected the distribution of Kraken Cryptor Ransomware by the aforementioned exploit kit which earlier made news for distributing the GandCrab Ransomware.
Going by the name of RaaS (a Service), Kraken Cryptor is being scrupulously distributed by affiliates. The vulnerable digital world is bearing witness to a virtual assemblage of attackers distributing the Kraken Cryptor using a wide array of methods.
For instance, last month, Superantispyware.com site was being compromised by a Kraken affiliate, the ransomware was being distributed disguised as an installer for the SuperAntiSpyware security program, which in reality was a counterfeit copy.
Sources on BleepingComputer’s website have it that the affiliate who pulled SuperAntiSpyware compromise had initially masterminded on placing the ransomware executable in the place of the original SuperAntiSpyware.exe file, but later for some ambiguous reason, he dumped the idea.
Referenced from the expert comments of nao sec made to the BleepingComputer, the onset of Kraken Cryptor’s malicious saga of penetration came as a bad news earlier this week, version 1.5 marked the start of a lethal series of penetrations and recently the distribution of version 1.6 came into light.
After getting itself comfortably installed into the system, the ransomware starts encrypting the user’s files. The fact that this version renames the encrypted files to a random name with a random extension is what distinguishes it from the previous versions which used sequential numbers in naming the files.
Prevention Front
In times when the dark clouds of digital vulnerabilities are looming large, users are advised to practice good computing habits and to have reliable security software. It’s needless to say that you should have a trustworthy and tested backup of your sensitive data; a backup well engineered that you can fall back on.
In order to thicken the security layer and preventing the vulnerabilities from being exploited, ensure the installation of all the latest Windows security updates and a guarded presence of the latest versions of all the programs.
That will have you guarded for the installation of Kraken via exploit kits, and ensuring that it is locked down correctly will have you covered for the installation via hacked Remote Desktop services. Meanwhile, setting up proper lockout policies will ensure a protection against brute force.
Behavioral detection can potentially provide protection against ransomware infections and encryption that follows and corrupts, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is security software that incorporates the feature of behavioral detections and hence Ehackingnews recommends the aforementioned software to the wide user base of digital natives and immigrants.
