BugWare Ransomware

Posted: October 12, 2017

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.

Ranking:	7,599
Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	25,541

First Seen:	October 12, 2017
Last Seen:	October 10, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The BugWare Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that holds your data hostage to force you to pay for its threat actor's decryption service. The BugWare Ransomware campaign targets Brazil-based PCs by using fake documents for installing itself currently, although its encryption attacks are equally compatible with systems in other nations. Scanning incoming documents with anti-malware programs can delete the BugWare Ransomware without giving it the opportunity to harm your files, and victims may use backups to restore any affected content.

The Document that's Bugging You for Monero

Brazil's favoritism as a region for spyware-based threats and banking Trojans to conduct their campaigns is beginning to fall by the wayside compared to the rise in encryption-based attacks, similar to those of Europe and North America. The last case of a Trojan that malware analysts are corroborating as focusing on this nation's residents, the BugWare Ransomware, isn't an apparent descendant of any RaaS platforms or families like Hidden Tear. However, it does bear a payload showing most of the features of a Trojan that aims to extort cryptocurrency after locking local content.

The threat actors behind the BugWare Ransomware's campaign are installing it via an executable posing as PDF document. This means of distribution is often paired with email messages with contents to imitate automatic office notifications, invoices or package delivery alerts. When opened in a compatible Windows environment, these files install the BugWare Ransomware without notifying the user. The BugWare Ransomware, then, uses an AES-256-derived encryption feature for blocking media on the computer, such as MPG, BMP, DOC or XLS. The BugWare Ransomware also adds the threat actor's e-mail address and the '.bugware' extension to their names, which malware analysts note is a tag only found in this campaign.

The most evident symptoms of a BugWare Ransomware infection occur after it's already locked all appropriate files. These elements include a text message, an interactive HTA pop-up window, and a reset wallpaper image. All notes provide identical demands for paying Monero (a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin) to the Trojan's authors for their decryption help.

Perfecting a Pest Poison for Your Bug Problem

File-locking campaigns attacking Brazilians aren't uncommon and are becoming even less so, over time. Although the BugWare Ransomware has no connections to similar Trojans like the garryweber@protonmail.ch Ransomware or the older Anatel Ransomware, its encryption payload operates on many of the same principles as them. Threats of this category almost always can be defeated by sufficiently prepared PC owners keeping copies of their data in secure storage, such as on USB drives. Malware analysts also recommend ignoring all ransom instructions, when possible, and can't verify any additional, file-deleting features coordinated with the BugWare Ransomware's timer countdown feature, which may be a bluff.

Whether or not the BugWare Ransomware can delete any further files after its first attacks for real, users should try to disable this threat as soon as practically possible to keep minimal their chances of further data loss. Most Windows installations should come equipped with Safe Mode access for disabling the automatic startup routines of threats like file-locking Trojans. Less than half of most professional brands of anti-malware products are identifying and deleting the BugWare Ransomware appropriately, and users should update their anti-malware protection's databases, when appropriate, to improve their detection rates.

There is no freeware decryption software available for the BugWare Ransomware yet. Whether or not such a solution ever becomes available, the BugWare Ransomware offers very ample reasons for not opening every 'document' that you receive.

BugWare Ransomware

Threat Metric

The Document that's Bugging You for Monero

Perfecting a Pest Poison for Your Bug Problem

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