Mogranos Ransomware

The Mogranos Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that can attack your digital media and keep it from opening. The Mogranos Ransomware locking mechanism of encryption is, frequently, permanent, without the ransom-based help of the threat actor. Users should establish backups for saving their files and use anti-malware tools for safely isolating or deleting the Mogranos Ransomware.

The New Build of an Old Media Problem

The Ransomware-as-a-Service business sector moves quickly, although the formula, for victims, remains predictable. These attacks search for and lock files by encrypting them, and extort their owners for Bitcoins, vouchers, or another, difficult-to-refund currency. The next iteration on this business model is the Mogranos Ransomware, which is the newest version of the Stop Ransomware RaaS. While this family is well-known, rapid updates to variants, such as the 1.33 the Mogranos Ransomware release, hamper the odds of finding data recovery solutions for its victims.

Malware researchers only see attacks leveraging the Mogranos Ransomware on Windows environments, as per usual with the STOP Ransomware (also labeled as Djvu Ransomware). Multiple incidents in the wild verify its live distribution, which could be employing general-purpose infection vectors like port scanners or torrents. Victims adhere to no known pattern and consist of English-speaking musicians, residents of Sri Lanka, and others.

After compromising the Windows system, the Mogranos Ransomware encrypts JPG pictures, Word documents, and other, digital media in locations like Saved Pictures, the desktop, etc. In the same folders, it also leaves a text file with demands for a ransom for reversing the encryption. Users can sort their working from non-opening content by looking for the 'mogranos' extension that the Mogranos Ransomware appends in all cases.

Putting the Stop on Trojans that will not Abide by Their Family's Name

Far from stopping, the STOP Ransomware is one of the most rapidly-updated and diverse RaaS that malware experts find in 2019, and compete hotly alongside similar businesses like the Dharma Ransomware and the Scarab Ransomware. The Mogranos Ransomware's infection strategies take it slightly further afield than other members of its family, such as the Besub Ransomware, the Godes Ransomware, the Neras Ransomware, or the Tocue Ransomware. The majority of campaigns of this group target Southeastern Asian nations, although the Mogranos Ransomware continues showing that this tendency isn't exclusive.

Most effective defenses against the Mogranos Ransomware require preventative steps. Of these, malware experts recommend avoiding passwords that are weak against brute-forcing, disabling RDP, updating server software where applicable, and avoiding unsafe download resources. Backing up one's work to another device, also, is both cheaper and more successful for data restoration than the gamble of paying the Mogranos Ransomware's ransom.

The usual brands of anti-malware services that identify STOP Ransomware should continue protecting your PC and other devices, such as smartphones, by safely quarantining or deleting the Mogranos Ransomware on sight.

With secure encryption being a, mostly, 'solved problem,' threat actors are turning to other updates for file-locker Trojans like the Mogranos Ransomware. What 1.33 of the STOP Ransomware has to show the world is an enormous question, although the answer is sure of involving hostage digital media.