Crypt12 Ransomware

The Crypt12 Ransomware is a Trojan that encrypts your files and displays a background image asking you to contact its threat actor and enter ransom negotiations. Remote attackers, who already have backdoor access to a compromised PC, usually will introduce attacks by the Crypt12 Ransomware. As recommended countermeasures, users should monitor their network security protocols for weaknesses, such as bad passwords, keep backups of their media, and install anti-malware products for removing the Crypt12 Ransomware and similar threats expediently.

Trojans Waging Cyber Warfare with Hands-On Strategies

Even though more file-encoding Trojans than otherwise are using infection vectors based on tricking the victim into running them, not all encryption campaigns are so limited necessarily. Periodically, malware experts find threats that use more manual system infiltration methods, such as the Crypt12 Ransomware. When it's run, this file-locking Trojan includes a GUI, not for the victim, but for the threat actor to its encryption attacks.

Con artists deploying the Crypt12 Ransomware appear to be targeting various regions of North America and Europe, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway. They may be gaining access to network logins after subjecting them to brute-force attacks or collecting passwords and user names through other methods, such as phishing tactics. Once they have system access, they can install and run the Crypt12 Ransomware, which comes with a custom panel for directing its encryption function.

The Crypt12 Ransomware's interface is simple and appears to be provided for ease of use concerns primarily. It includes options for selecting specific drives for encryption, instead of any individual folders, and no known options for targeting different format of files. The window also displays a stealth feature for concealing the panel UI while the encryption scan runs and blocks documents and other media. Additional name changes insert an ID number, the threat actor's e-mail address, and the '.crypt12' extension.

As a final symptom, the Crypt12 Ransomware also resets the desktop's image to show a black background with a short ransoming message.

Avoiding a Wallpaper with Unfortunate Security Implications

Te Crypt12 Ransomware's campaign is more likely to be implicated in attacks against specific, for-profit companies than it is to attack random users or recreational-use PCs. Protection against such attacks includes following password-generating strategies that aren't at risk of brute-force hacks, such using longer, complex combinations of numbers and letters in both cases. Threat actors also may be trying to collect login credentials through tactics requiring the victim to 'log in' to a corrupted website.

Since the Crypt12 Ransomware's design is strongly supportive of manual system infection, victims may not need to make mistakes like opening e-mail attachments, which is a typical distribution method with other variants of file-encrypting Trojans. Malware analysts can confirm the Crypt12 Ransomware is .NET Framework software, which makes it compatible with most Windows machines. While many anti-malware products should uninstall the Crypt12 Ransomware, which has no significant protection from specialized security software, victims without backups may lose all media on the targeted hard drives.

It's common for PC users to point to blatant mistakes like downloading illicit software as the end-all and be-all of Trojan infections. However, threat actors are more than willing to use methods more steeped in hands-on tactics, particularly, as with the Crypt12 Ransomware, there's potential for making large amounts of money on the line.