Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware

Posted: October 3, 2016

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.

Threat Level:	10/10
Infected PCs:	40

First Seen:	October 3, 2016
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware is a Trojan that holds your local files hostage by encrypting them with a supposedly unbreakable cipher, for which its perpetrators hold the decryption key. Although this Trojan's payload includes a sophisticated ransom-transacting process, malware experts often find such purchases risky, and you only should undertake them as last resorts. Anti-malware programs for removing the Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware and vigorous backup strategies can protect your computer and your files.

How Government Espionage Turns to Outright Crime

Although various governments and other entities may condone espionage for profit, in the right circumstances, the boundaries of law between such actions aren't always clear. Previously, malware researchers encountered samples of spyware, backdoor Trojans, and other, high-level threats selling to governments for use against their political opponents. However, the Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware takes a new step forward by basing itself on exploits from the legal business HackingTeam, but still conducting wholly illegal threat campaigns.

HackingTeam is an Italy-based corporation that provides software to government entities interested in circumventing PC security for such purposes as remote surveillance. Although its business model is legal, at least one set of enterprising threat authors seems to have borrowed exploit strategies from HackingTeam to build a Trojan abusing them: the Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware. This development owes itself to a data breach in 2015 wherein HackingTeam lost confidential documentation, e-mails, and program code possibly.

The Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware uses file encrypting attacks to extort ransom money, similarly to the Crysis Ransomware and other, equally well-known threats. The Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware uses the AES encryption for locking formats of files associated with content such as images or documents and appends the '.locked' string after any preexisting extensions.

The Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware's payload also includes a pop-up message in Italian asking for a ransom payment for purchasing its decryptor, an act that, potentially, could restore your files. The pop-up includes several advanced, script-based elements that assist with the transaction process, provide the victim with additional information, and threaten the permanent destruction of the decryption key if you miss the payment's time limit.

Sending a Trojan's Ransoming Campaign into the Canals

Many threat authors see brand names for their products as potentially powerful motivators, encouraging ransom payments quickly and with little resistance. While the Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware's pop-up self-identifies the threat as being an update of Cryptolocker, malware researchers often see similar behavior among unrelated threats, including different versions of the less advanced CryptoWall Ransomware. As a rule, taking the word of ransom demands delivered through threatening software is detrimental the data recovery process.

Malware experts still are identifying the preferred infection methods in use by this threat's campaign. In the current year, many threat authors distribute threats like the Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware through compromising networks with e-mail spam, after which they may brute force additional user accounts. Even a straightforward step as scanning all your e-mail attachments or using sophisticated passwords can stop most of the infection vectors the Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware might exploit.

Your anti-malware products may be able to uninstall the Cryptolocker Italy Ransomware, but recovering data via decryption can be impractical. As long as exploitable business data is vulnerable to theft, PC owners will need to make equal use of good security practices and data redundancy strategies to stop threats like this supposedly new version of 'Cryptolocker.'