A new strain of ransomware has been identified which has been used in multiple attacks over the past few weeks.

All of the attack vectors used to distribute the ransomware are not yet known, but samples of the ransomware have been distributed via a spam email campaign.

The spam email campaign uses a tried and test format to deliver the ransomware payload. A Word document called Info_BSV_2019.docm is attached to emails with requests that the recipient open the document. In order for the contents to be displayed, the user is told they must enable macros. Enabling macros will launch code that downloads an executable file, which is renamed LooCipher.exe and is executed.

The ransomware will encrypt a standard range of file types, but instead of deleting the original files, they are retained as zero-byte files. Encrypted files are given the extension .lcphr.

The ransomware creates a file on the Windows Desktop called c2056.ini, which includes the unique ID number of the computer, the time limit for paying the ransom, and the Bitcoin wallet address for payment. The ransom note warns that deletion of the ini file will prevent file recovery.

Users are given 5 days to pay the ransom or the key to unlock files will be permanently deleted. The ransom is €300 ($330) in Bitcoin per device. No option is provided to test to see whether a file can be decrypted.

LooCipher ransomware may not be particularly polished, but it has already claimed several victims. Recovery will depend on an organization’s ability to restore files from backups. It is not clear whether the attackers hold valid keys to decrypt encrypted files.

Ransomware attacks have been increasing following a decline in popularity of ransomware with hackers in 2018. There have been high profile attacks on U.S. cities and ransoms and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been paid in ransoms. Ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations have increased, and several new strains of ransomware have emerged.

Recently the Department of Homeland Security warned of the risk of wiper malware attacks by Iranian threat actors, as tensions between the United States and Iran continue to increase.

These malware threats may be delivered by a variety of different methods, but spam email is the delivery vector of choice. Protecting against these malware threats requires an advanced spam filtering solution capable of precision control over incoming email and the ability to scan messages and analyze attachments for malicious code.

SpamTitan uses twin AV engines to identify known malware and a sandbox to analyze suspicious attachments to identify malicious actions and provides superior protection against malware, ransomware, viruses, botnets, and phishing attacks.

To find out more about how you can improve email security with SpamTitan, contact the TitanHQ team today.