CYR-Locker Ransomware

Posted: March 3, 2017

Threat Metric

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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.

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% 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:	9

First Seen:	March 3, 2017
Last Seen:	April 11, 2022
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The CYR-Locker Ransomware is a Trojan that blocks your screen with pop-ups threatening that it's encrypting your files, which it uses for extorting money. Current versions of the CYR-Locker Ransomware don't encode any data, although malware experts continue encouraging backing up your content, in case this Trojan receives updates. Software with traditional anti-malware features may identify and delete the CYR-Locker Ransomware without allowing it to block your screen.

The Cost of Falling for Outer Appearances

'Ransomware' style Trojans can include both file-encrypting threats and ones that use other methods of ransoming the contents of their victim's PCs, such as desktop-locking windows. Since the past year, malware researchers are seeing more Trojans fitting the latter sub-category that pose as the former, including the CYR-Locker Ransomware. Whether it's in the middle of its development or is a deliberate imitation of a different Trojan, the CYR-Locker Ransomware pretends to block your files when, in fact, the only thing it locks down is the user interface.

Other cyber security researchers isolated the first samples of the CYR-Locker Ransomware in late February, with its means of compromising new PCs a point of debate. Its payload launches a pop-up window that locks the rest of your screen, blocking access to other applications or your desktop. The contents of this pop-up include a text that malware experts have seen from similar 'screen-locker' Trojan campaigns, although the CYR-Locker Ransomware's author customizes the text slightly.

The CYR-Locker Ransomware warns of having encrypted your local files and uses several social engineering strategies to collect a ransom through its threats. Entering the wrong key causes the Trojan to generate a second message threatening to delete your files, while the first message places a twenty-four-hour time limit on accepting the ransom. Since the CYR-Locker Ransomware shows a current absence of any file-enciphering features, malware experts see no valid reason for paying the '10 million' Bitcoin sum that it demands.

Common Lock Picks for Equally Commonplace Trojans

The CYR-Locker Ransomware is demonstrative of the high level of social manipulation and deliberate misinformation that can go into the average Trojan campaign, especially with threats that aren't targeting businesses with data worth encrypting. For the average PC user, the CYR-Locker Ransomware's ability to block the desktop with a pop-up is not any more confounding than a real file-encoding attack necessarily. However, standard security techniques like booting from a peripheral device and using Safe Mode, when appropriate, can provide workarounds for the CYR-Locker Ransomware's payload.

If the CYR-Locker Ransomware's authors do update the threat for including actual file-encoding attacks, assistance from experienced anti-malware researchers may be mandatory for any data restoration. Decoding mischievously-encrypted content is not always practical, which is why malware experts place value on scheduling backups, such as using a cloud storage service. However, disinfecting your PC and deleting the CYR-Locker Ransomware should be viable with any qualified anti-malware product.

The CYR-Locker Ransomware targets English speakers although its author displays a limited grasp of the language. This new Trojan is evidence of how much malware authors are willing to lie in support of their other misdeeds, turning upfront negotiating into an expensive mistake for any computer owner.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

dir\CYR-Locker.exe

File name: CYR-Locker.exe
Size: 77.82 KB (77824 bytes)
MD5: 295837a0503871bdccb8b78f5f54f5a0
Detection count: 5
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: dir
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: April 11, 2022