ClicoCrypter Ransomware

Posted: August 18, 2017

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	28

First Seen:	August 18, 2017
Last Seen:	September 18, 2021
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The ClicoCrypter Ransomware is a Trojan that locks your files with a combination of the AES and RSA encryptions, an attack that threat actors often use to demand ransom payments. Although the ClicoCrypter Ransomware is in development as a proof-of-concept project purely, threat actors could hijack this software and use it to compromise your PC's media. Allow anti-malware products to delete the ClicoCrypter Ransomware proactively, when appropriate, and keep backups to prevent any data loss from occurring that you can't undo.

Demonstrating Trojan Attacks with Polish Developers

The concept of 'educational' development of threatening software is one with a mixed reception for PC users. While these demonstrative programs often help various security organizations improve their heuristic detection rates and find other ways of combating encryption-based threats, they also are sometimes resources for con artists to exploit. Even when they aren't in live distribution for harmful purposes, like the ClicoCrypter Ransomware, malware analysts find them worth noting for potential future issues.

The ClicoCrypter Ransomware is a product of the Polish PC security company of Clico and isn't for public distribution or intended for attacking regular users. The Trojan does, however, demonstrate the effectiveness of the AES and RSA encryptions by searching the infected PC for formats of media to encrypt and block (such as DOC or JPG), similarly to threats like Hidden Tear and EDA2. Victims shouldn't determine the identity of the infection by this symptom, alone, which the Trojan also shares with separate threats, like AutoEncryptor Ransomware.

The ClicoCrypter Ransomware also provides a second identifier: an unusual ransom note that it loads through an INFO format-based pop-up. The decryption instructions are in Polish but also are irrelevant, and contain farcical recommendations such as yelling at the monitor physically. Since Clico doesn't intend to distribute the Trojan into the wild, there is no decryption solution associated with the ClicoCrypter Ransomware.

Keeping a Demo from Getting Too Real

The ClicoCrypter Ransomware is compatible with any PC that supports its version of Java theoretically. While initial detection rates from major AV vendors were extremely poor, extended analysis has resulted in database improvements that should let more security products identify this threat accurately. Users should be cautious about running the ClicoCrypter Ransomware in a regular environment, since, even though the Trojan has a benevolent development justification, it does demonstrate a fully-working encryption feature.

Threat actors sometimes gain access to a source code that allows them to hijack normally-benign projects like the ClicoCrypter Ransomware, with the Turkish Hidden Tear and EDA2 programs being two of the most notable examples. Steps for eliminating any potential for data loss through these attacks rely on having backups that Trojans can't delete locally, or the user could block the infection at the outset. Anti-malware programs scanning suspicious files, such as e-mail attachments, and monitoring your Web-browsing activity have the best chances of detecting and deleting the ClicoCrypter Ransomware.

Malware analysts haven't found any evidence of the ClicoCrypter Ransomware in the wild or otherwise exploited by third parties. Clico can only be hoped to guard its source code well to prevent this Trojan from becoming a new Hidden Tear.

ClicoCrypter Ransomware

Threat Metric

Demonstrating Trojan Attacks with Polish Developers

Keeping a Demo from Getting Too Real

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