CryptWalker Ransomware

Posted: January 10, 2018

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:	8/10
Infected PCs:	93

First Seen:	May 9, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The CryptWalker Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan based on the DUMB project. The CryptWalker Ransomware blocks the media files of its victims to encourage them to pay ransoms to acquire the unlocking key. Although decryption without paying is potentially available, malware experts recommend that all users protect their digital content via backups. For removing the CryptWalker Ransomware, most victims should use only updated and well-recognized anti-malware applications.

Trojans are Getting DUMBer Again

The cybercrooks are more than willing to use another person's work for committing their misdeeds, as is observable with the profusion of file-locking Trojan families from the Globe Ransomware to EDA2. One of the smallest of these groups, the open-source DUMB project, had its last addition, the Tyrant Ransomware, months ago. Now, joining the likes of the Tyrant Ransomware, the Ramsomeer Ransomware, and the AnDROid Ransomware, malware experts are adding the much newer CryptWalker Ransomware.

Although it's the first example of the 'Dumb' Ransomware for 2018, the CryptWalker Ransomware isn't out of testing, and malware experts only have samples with limitations that, most likely, will not apply to the live campaign version of this threat. The CryptWalker Ransomware uses an enciphering process based on algorithms such as AES or XOR to block different files in the Windows systems, which excludes the operating system, but includes media like documents, images or music. The threat actor has yet to add a customized extension (for instance, 'flower.jpg.encrypted') to the CryptWalker Ransomware, which doesn't make any name changes.

The testing build of the CryptWalker Ransomware targets data in a Test sub-folder of Documents. Unlike most file-locking Trojans, the CryptWalker Ransomware also does not create a background warning, pop-up interface or text file for delivering any ransoming instructions, although this may be temporary. Malware experts recommend avoiding submitting to any financial demands for the reversal of the CryptWalker Ransomware's encryption, which may be solvable by freeware decryption programs.

Walking Your Media out of a Trojan's Crypt

Traditional ways of eliminating the risks of many file-locking payloads depend on backing up your data to another computer or portable device. Malware experts can't guarantee that any decryption tools, including those sold by this Trojan's threat actors, will recover your data. However, like other versions of DUMB, the CryptWalker Ransomware is only a risk to Windows PCs.

Until its campaign launches, the CryptWalker Ransomware's distribution strategies are unknowable in specifics, although most file-locker Trojans utilize one of an array of archetypal infection methods. E-mail attachments pretending to be non-toxic content, like delivery notifications, may include installers for the CryptWalker Ransomware or embed them into documents. Remote attackers also can use brute-force software to compromise networks that use inadequately secure password protocols. Due to its limited payload, fewer anti-malware programs are deleting the CryptWalker Ransomware as a threat than usual, and malware experts strongly advise updating these products for maximum accuracy.

The CryptWalker Ransomware is little different from the Ramsomeer Ransomware and its kin but does offer a new threat to endanger careless PC owners. Any content that means money is always worth the effort of being preserved from a file-locking attack, no matter how simplistic it may be.

CryptWalker Ransomware

Threat Metric

Trojans are Getting DUMBer Again

Walking Your Media out of a Trojan's Crypt

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