Anatel Ransomware

The Anatel Ransomware is a Trojan that encrypts your files, such as documents and movies, and holds them hostage until its administrators transfer the decryption password to you. Most con artists use these attacks to bargain for ransom payments through an untraceable cryptocurrency, with malware analysts rating Brazilian residents as being especially at risk from the Anatel Ransomware campaign. Standard recovery tactics for this threat include removing the Anatel Ransomware, like any threatening software, with appropriate anti-malware tools, followed by restoring your encrypted content from an undamaged backup.

Conducting Telecommunications with a Trojan

The disguises Trojan delivery methods and attacks use may provide various clues about their developers and overall campaign strategy. Nowhere is this more evident than with the Anatel Ransomware, a file encryption Trojan that malware experts see conducting ransom attempts in Portuguese, but by using a Brazilian-specific agency. The Anatel Ransomware most likely uses the same e-mail attachment-based installation methods made famous by previous file encryptors, with the added disguise of pretending to be a notification from the Anatel (Brazil's independent, government-endorsed telecommunications manager).

Apart from its Telecommunications Agency theme, the Anatel Ransomware behaves similarly to most other file encryption-based threats. The Anatel Ransomware identifies files according to their extensions, such as AVI, TxT, WAV or ZIP, and modifies their internal data through asymmetrical RSA and AES algorithms. The insertion of a '.lok' extension onto each name also helps the victim detect these changes and determine what content is now unusable.

The Anatel Ransomware's ransom note redirects the victim to e-mail communications without specifying its ransom, a tactic that malware researchers also see in previous Trojan campaigns. Most con artists will demand a variable Bitcoin sum starting from a minimum of several hundred dollars in USD value before delivering any decryption help. Another notable facet of the Anatel Ransomware's message is a passing reference to the hacker-activist group Anonymous, which could frighten victims into rushing to pay.

Stopping Fake Agencies from Locking Your Personal Business

Despite all the trappings of its messages and installer choices, the Anatel Ransomware is not a product of Brazil's actual Anatel agency. Malware analysts also see no significant connections between its developer team and the Anonymous hacktivists. For Brazilian PC owners, scanning potentially corrupted attachments can let their security software detect many of the most common Trojan droppers, including those that may carry the Anatel Ransomware.

Symptoms of the Anatel Ransomware include a few, scant Registry changes and a high-visibility ransom message, which the Anatel Ransomware loads automatically in a plain text format. Casual PC users should refrain from modifying the Registry carelessly, which can prevent essential components of their operating system from loading themselves. Use anti-malware suites and other, dedicated security products for scanning your PC and removing the Anatel Ransomware.

The PC security sector has yet to develop any free decryptors for the Anatel Ransomware's relatively new campaign. Until such a time comes to pass, you can protect your data from encryption-based hostage crises by keeping copies on a safe backup. For their part, malware analysts continue maintaining an interest in the Anatel Ransomware for its potential indicator in a shift in Brazil-based threat campaigns from banking Trojans to alternative means of soliciting revenue.