CrypMIC Ransomware

Posted: July 21, 2016

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:	10/10
Infected PCs:	91

First Seen:	July 21, 2016
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The CrypMIC Ransomware is a Trojan that encrypts the contents of your computer, including any network-accessible drives, and loads a ransom message afterward. Unlike most file encryption Trojans, the CrypMIC Ransomware does not flag any affected files by giving them new or modified names. Dependable data recovery should use non-local backups not accessible by the Trojan at the time of the infection, and your anti-malware products can remove the CrypMIC Ransomware from your PC.

A New Trojan that may Seem Familiar

Both recycling resources and mimicking other programs regularly are recurring acts within the threatening software industry, with file encryptors being one of the greatest recurring examples for this year. The security company Trend Micro acquired samples of a new threat, RANSOM_the CrypMIC.A recently, that borrows many aspects from the CryptXXX Ransomware campaign. Despite sharing network communication preferences and ransom notes with that old threat, the CrypMIC Ransomware uses an entirely separate encryption method and doesn't share any code with the second Trojan.

The CrypMIC Ransomware uses the Neutrino Exploit Kit, a threat that exploits browser vulnerabilities for threat delivery, as its initial infection vector. Upon arrival, the CrypMIC Ransomware scans for just over nine hundred separate formats of data and encrypts them all (via AES-256, a different algorithm from the one in use by the CryptXXX Ransomware). Malware experts took note of the CrypMIC Ransomware detecting Virtual Machine environments and transferring that information to its C&C server, but without halting its encryption attack.

The CrypMIC Ransomware also loads multiple formats of ransom notes into the Windows Startup folder, all of which are minor variants of the texts already used in the CryptXXX Ransomware campaign. The instructions provide information on how to pay Bitcoins in exchange for a decryption application, although reports show that the application isn't functioning correctly currently. A live countdown delivered via an embedded HTML timer also encourages victims to pay as fast as possible, before considering the risks.

Dropping the Mic on the CrypMIC Ransomware

The CrypMIC Ransomware campaign exemplifies how many characteristics two entirely separate threat products can share between them. Even though the CrypMIC Ransomware shares its ransom notes, communication ports and exploit kits with the CryptXXX Ransomware, the CrypMIC Ransomware doesn't leave appended name changes, use the same encryption method, or target the same range of hard drives. The CrypMIC Ransomware attacks drive D through Z currently, including network-mapped ones, as well as the contents of the User Profile directory.

Local SBC data is removed during the CrypMIC Ransomware's payload, making it impossible to restore your content through default backups. As with most campaigns of this nature, malware experts recommend keeping your backups inaccessible from vulnerable systems (such as by password-protecting a cloud account or unplugging your USB drives). You then may remove the threat by any means required and restore any encrypted data from your clean backups.

Although only the CrypMIC Ransomware's ransom notes possess any built-in system persistence, the CrypMIC Ransomware does initiate contact with third-party servers and may transfer potentially sensitive system information into their possession. Use your anti-malware products to remove the CrypMIC Ransomware and disinfect the rest of your PC before trying to save your data.

In spite of its attempts to follow in past threat's footsteps, the CrypMIC Ransomware fails to provide working incentive for anyone to pay its unlawful ransom, making its campaign questionable, at best.

CrypMIC Ransomware

Threat Metric

A New Trojan that may Seem Familiar

Dropping the Mic on the CrypMIC Ransomware

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