CerBerSysLock Ransomware

Posted: December 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:	11,874
Threat Level:	2/10
Infected PCs:	110

First Seen:	August 23, 2022
Last Seen:	October 4, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The CerBerSysLock Ransomware is a file-locker Trojan that pretends to be an update of the Cerber Ransomware, although it uses a simple encryption method and is most closely related to the Xorist Ransomware's family. Besides backing up content to keep the CerBerSysLock Ransomware from damaging it permanently, users should be mindful of e-mail attachment and document-based infection vectors for this threat. Most anti-malware programs should block the CerBerSysLock Ransomware immediately, but also may uninstall it after an attack safely.

Intentionally Mistaken Identities Among Trojans

For many cybercrooks, pretending to be talented and dedicated is a viable substitution for legitimate talent and effort, which many of the 'copycat' Trojan campaigns demonstrate unintentionally. These threats hijack the brand-based identities of their competition while imitating many of their symptoms, which can cause the victim to overreact or perform self-destructive actions inadvertently. While malware experts find new specimens in this field weekly, most of them, like the CerBerSysLock Ransomware, also include real dangers along with their tactics.

The CerBerSysLock Ransomware may be under management by the same threat actors that are responsible for the TrickBot banking Trojan and uses a similar code-packing method to prevent some security solutions from finding it. Victims may compromise themselves after opening fake invoices and other, document-formatted e-mail attachments that embed vulnerabilities facilitating the Trojan's installation.

When it runs, the CerBerSysLock Ransomware searches all directories for small file formats such as pictures and documents that it can encrypt. It uses a simple, XOR-based enciphering mechanism to block all of these files, and also adds '.CerBerSysLocked0009881' extensions to their names. It carries this Cerber Ransomware-based theme into the text messages it also creates, which claim that it's a 5.0 version of that threat and asks the user to contact an e-mail address for further ransoming demands. Malware analysts can corroborate the CerBerSysLock Ransomware being unrelated to the Cerber Ransomware family and, as usual, discourage paying for regaining your data.

Matching the Key to Your Media's Jail Door

File-locking Trojans who deliver fake information about their identities often do so to keep victims from helping themselves by finding appropriate, free solutions for decryption and data restoration. Malware experts do encourage backing up data preemptively to make a decryptor unnecessary, but also emphasize the widespread availability of freeware decryption apps for simple threats like the CerBerSysLock Ransomware. Cyber-security researchers with experience in analyzing file-locking Trojans usually can decode XOR-based attacks, with appropriate samples.

The corrupted documents that the CerBerSysLock Ransomware may be installing itself with could involve macro-based vulnerabilities that the user has to consent to load. Leaving such content disabled and scanning all downloads, particularly text documents, eliminates most of the installation exploits that this threat might use. Even afterward, professional anti-malware suites should delete the CerBerSysLock Ransomware immediately without its being able to lock your files.

Decryption tools specialize in highly-specific families of file-locking Trojans. Copying your files for further experimentation is a valid way of avoiding problems while recovering from the CerBerSysLock Ransomware, and impostors just like it.

Technical Details

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

check-now.online