BtcKing Ransomware

The BtcKing Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that may use XOR, AES-256, or other encryption standards for keeping your files from opening. This threat also drops text messages that ask for a ransom for the unlocking help of its admin, although users should remain aware of the probability of paying without any compensation. Backing up your files can help keep them out of danger from infection by this Trojan, and anti-malware tools can block, quarantine, or delete the BtcKing Ransomware safely.

A New King of Extortion's Prospective Coronation

A file-locking Trojan is making use of old extortionist messages while it attacks files and keeps them unusable until the owners pay a ransom. The format of its instructions dates back to May of this year, but the BtcKing Ransomware infections have yet to be identifiable in the wild, as of late June. Malware experts are expecting distribution strategies including spammed e-mail file attachments, brute-force attacks against for-profit business entities, and, potentially, exploit kits or corrupted torrent downloads.

Current sources estimate that the BtcKing Ransomware is using AES as its file-locking algorithm of choice, which could encrypt PDF documents, Word documents, BMP or GIF pictures, and other media types in a relatively short time. Since the Trojan also inserts an ID serial number and the '.BtcKING' extension into the filenames, the users can search for these changes for determining the extent of any data loss. Significantly, it also creates a 'KEY' file inside the Windows directory, which contains a code for decrypting the media. Since samples are in limited distribution, malware experts can't determine whether this code is hard-coded into the BtcKing Ransomware or is variable between different installations.

The BtcKing Ransomware creates a text-based ransoming message for demanding money from its victims, with one of two names verifiable, so far ('How to Decode Files' and 'nA01AND5'). Besides an ASCII art-based skull logo and the May-dated instructions, this file also provides identifiable characteristics such as a Bitmessage-based communication setup and an offer of unlocking one file for no charge. Paying the ransom, however, remains highly risky for any data recovery purposes, and malware experts discourage it heavily.

Keeping a Tyrant from Ruling Over Your Media

Its use of an old ransom note doesn't necessarily correlate the BtcKing Ransomware with being related to old versions of file-locking Trojans, but malware experts require further analysis before drawing any additional conclusions on its ancestry or payload capabilities. Vulnerable users also may wish to remain aware of other risks that often accompany Trojans of this classification, such as desktop background hijackings and, especially, the deleting of local backups. Since the second issue is a recurrent one, backups on the same PC as their original copies are at an equal level of risk for any encryption damage.

The BtcKing Ransomware communicates its demands in English, but criminals often use this language for a default degree of compatibility with different nations throughout the world. Since the instructions are copies of old resources, they also imply nothing about the threat actor's base of operations or familiarity with the language. Many anti-malware products do use various methods of detecting threats that could install a file-locking Trojan and should delete the BtcKing Ransomware immediately, in most circumstances.

The BtcKing Ransomware could be en route to new PCs courtesy of everything from e-mail spam to the latest EKs, like the Nebula Exploit Kit. Since there's much left to discover about its campaign, individuals with precious documents and other media are left to back them up and use common-sense safeguards, as appropriate.