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Showing posts with label MegaCortex ransomware. Show all posts
Ransomware attack
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MegaCortex Rasomware Attack: Victims Can Now Restore Stolen Files For Free


Cybersecurity company, Bitdefender, has launched a new tool that would help victims of MegaCortex ransomware unlock their files, offering a sigh of relief to those whose files had been locked for years following the cyberattack.  

MegaCortex Ransomware

The MegaCortex ransomware first came to light in January 2019. It included many interesting characteristics, such as utilizing signed executables as a part of the payload, and the malware's developer was additionally offered security consulting services. 

The ransomware used both automated and manual components in order to attack as many targeted victims as possible. 

Moreover, MegaCortex ransomware may be employing networks that have already been infiltrated in an initial attack using Emotet and Qakbot malware to target businesses rather than individual consumers. 

According to The Malware Wiki, MegaCortex used AES encryption to encrypt user files. The only way to regain access to protected data is through a private key, which victims would need to buy from the hackers, according to a readme file that came with infections. 

The MegaCortex ransomware attack was capable of information theft, file encryption as well disabling usage capability. According to an estimate by TechCrunch, MegaCortex may have infected as many as 1,800 companies around the globe, including a number of “high profile” targets. Although it has been indicated that the figure is likely to be far higher. 

Later, in October 2021, law enforcement detained 12 suspected of being involved in more than 1,800 ransomware assaults in 71 different nations. Police reportedly spent months searching through the data gathered during the arrests, according to TechCrunch. In the end, they discovered individual decryption keys that were utilised to produce and disseminate a program in September of last year to decode files encrypted by the LockerGoga ransomware. 

Free Decryptor Built by Bitdefender 

The free decryptor is being deployed by Bitdefender and the EU’s initiative ‘No More Ransom’ in cooperation with the Zürich Cantonal Police, the Zürich Public Prosecutor’s Office, and Europol. 

The authorities announced in September that 12 culprits have been detained in connection with the Dharma, LockerGoga, and MegaCortex ransomware families. 

The arrests at the time, according to a statement from Zürich's prosecutor, enabled investigators to collect numerous private keys used by the ransomware gang, which would allow victims to restore data that had been previously encrypted using the LockerGaga or MegaCortex virus. A decryptor for LockerGoga was made available by BitDefender last year. 

The cybersecurity company has recently confirmed that the free MegaCortex decryptor is now being made available. The tool will work to unlock files that were encrypted by MegaCortex ransomware and all its variants. It is available to download from Bitdefender and through No More Ransom’s decryption tools portal, which is, in fact, home to 136 other free tools for 165 ransomware variants such as Babuk, DarkSide, Gandcrab, and REvil.  

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New MegaCortex ransomware targeting corporate networks

A new strain of ransomware called MegaCortex has been found targeting attacks against entities in the US, Canada, France, Netherlands, Ireland, and Italy. The ransomware uses both automated as well as manual components in an effort to infect as many victims as possible. It uses a complicated chain of events with some infections beginning with stolen credentials for domain controllers inside target networks.

The ransomware was reported by UK cyber-security firm Sophos after it detected a spike in ransomware attacks at the end of last week.

According to security researchers at Sophos, the cybercriminals operating the ransomware appear to be fans of the movie Matrix, as the ransom note “reads like it was written in the voice and cadence of Lawrence Fishburne’s character, Morpheus.”

The ransomware first began popping up in January. The ransomware has a few interesting attributes, including its use of a signed executable as part of the payload, and an offer of security consulting services from the malware author. Researchers said the ransomware often is present on networks that already are infected with the Emotet and Qakbot malware, but are not sure whether those tools are part of the delivery chain for MegaCortex.

Sophos said the ransomware appears to have been designed to target large enterprise networks as part of carefully planned targeted intrusions --in a tactic that is known as "big-game hunting."

“The malware also employs the use of a long batch file to terminate running programs and kill a large number of services, many of which appear to be related to security or protection, which is becoming a common theme among current-generation ransomware families,” Sophos researcher Andrew Brandt said in a report.

Ransomware, for the most part, targets individuals rather than enterprise networks. That has mainly to do with individuals being relatively easier targets than corporate machines, but some attackers have begun to move up the food chain. Corporate ransomware infections can be much more profitable and efficient, with larger payouts for criminals who can compromise an organization rather than dozens or hundreds of individual victims. MegaCortex seems to be part of that trend, targeting enterprises with a mix of techniques.
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