ShrinkLocker: Turning BitLocker into ransomware


The original purpose of BitLocker is to address the risks of data theft or exposure from lost, stolen, or improperly decommissioned devices.

Nonetheless, threat actors have found out that this mechanism can be repurposed for malicious ends to great effect. In that incident, the attackers were able to deploy and run an advanced VBS script that took advantage of BitLocker for unauthorized file encryption. We spotted this script and its modified versions in Mexico, Indonesia, and Jordan. In the sections below, we analyze in detail the malicious code obtained during our incident response effort and provide tips for mitigating this kind of threat.

Read more…
Source: Kaspersky


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • TrickBot Switches to a New Windows 10 UAC Bypass to Evade Detection

    February 3, 2020

    The TrickBot trojan has evolved again to bolster its ability to elude detection, this time adding a feature that can bypass Windows 10 User Account Control (UAC) to deliver malware across multiple workstations and endpoints on a network, researchers have discovered. Researchers at Morphisec Labs team said they discovered code last March that uses the Windows ...

  • EKANS Ransomware and ICS Operations

    February 3, 2020

    EKANS ransomware emerged in mid-December 2019, and Dragos published a private report to Dragos WorldView Threat Intelligence customers early January 2020. While relatively straightforward as a ransomware sample in terms of encrypting files and displaying a ransom note, EKANS featured additional functionality to forcibly stop a number of processes, including multiple items related to ICS ...

  • Hackers are hijacking smart building access systems to launch DDoS attacks

    February 2, 2020

    Hackers are actively searching the internet and hijacking smart door/building access control systems, which they are using to launch DDoS attacks, according to firewall company SonicWall. The attacks are targeting Linear eMerge E3, a product of Nortek Security & Control (NSC). Linear eMerge E3 devices fall in the hardware category of “access control systems.” They are ...

  • Emotet Uses Coronavirus Scare in Latest Campaign, Targets Japan

    January 31, 2020

    Threat actors behind the Emotet malware used the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) scare as a hook for their spam email campaign against targets in Japan. 2019-nCoV, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, in the past month, has caused hundreds of deaths and thousands of confirmed cases in China alone. The virus has already spread to ...

  • Over 30 Million Stolen Credit Card Records Being Sold on the Dark Web

    January 30, 2020

    Cybercriminals were found selling over 30 million credit card records on the dark web, purportedly from a data breach suffered by a U.S.-based gas station and convenience store chain last year. The sale of the data collection, advertised under the name BIGBADABOOM-III on the dark marketplace Joker’s Stash, comes in the wake of the company’s data security incident ...

  • A Ransomware Prescription for the Healthcare Industry

    January 29, 2020

    To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of ransomware’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Ransomware attacks resumed with a vengeance last year, despite conjecture by some researchers that CPU mining would overtake ransomware as a leading threat vector. Instead, the ransomware threat is stronger than ever, impacting more than 750 healthcare providers and racking up recovery costs approaching $4 billion. Some healthcare ...