Gomme Ransomware

Posted: May 31, 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.

Threat Level:	10/10
Infected PCs:	73

First Seen:	May 31, 2017
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Gomme Ransomware is a Trojan that may block your files with encryption and display messages asking you to pay Bitcoins to unblock them. Although encryption sometimes is reversible with the help of freeware solutions, PC users always should protect their files with backups that aren't at risk of being deleted or encrypted. Anti-malware programs also can block the Gomme Ransomware or uninstall it, if it does succeed in attacking your computer.

File-Blocking Threats Crashing Their Way Through Development

Not every Trojan is meant to finish its development originally and, then, see deployment against victims with the intent of collecting money. However, as projects like Hidden Tear showcase, intentions don't always count for everything in threatening software. The Gomme Ransomware is a recently-detected threat that malware experts noted as being a potential encryptor, although its author denies any intention to make public use of it.

The Gomme Ransomware's current release is buggy and will crash before it can finish encrypting any content. When working, it can append '.gommemode' extensions to any affected files, and also may encrypt content in arbitrary directories. For now, the Gomme Ransomware only is trying to encode the media in a 'test' desktop directory.

The Gomme Ransomware also conducts some basic network communications, which it uses for passing decryption-related data and confirming the wallet address. The Gomme Ransomware delivers the second value to the victim, along with a demand for Bitcoins, in a console window that it tries to generate automatically. The Trojan also may try to install the TOR Web browser, if it isn't already present, which is a traditional anonymity tool for threat actors collecting ransoms through various websites.

When Fully-Developed Problems Come from Half-Made Trojans

In its May release, the Gomme Ransomware doesn't finish conducting its payload before self-terminating unintentionally. However, while that version of the Trojan remains buggy and uses placeholder data in many of its functions, malware experts did confirm the presence of all the skeletal structures one would anticipate from any standardized, file-ransoming campaign. Files that this Trojan encrypts, either intentionally or accidentally, may be decryptable with help from security researchers. Malware experts also recommend backing up your work daily which eliminates any dependence on breaking the cipher.

This Windows-based Trojan has yet to see any new updates since the last verifiable version was in May. However, threat actors may collect code from other sources to implement in campaigns for their benefit, which is particularly evident throughout the many variations of EDA2 and Hidden Tear. Keep your anti-malware software active and up-to-date for eliminating the Gomme Ransomware and blocking any theoretical file-locking attacks.

The Gomme Ransomware's author may be genuine in his insistence on never employing this software for harmful purposes. Even so, a single leak of its source code is all that others might need to twist the Gomme Ransomware to purposes never intended.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

file.exe

File name: file.exe
Size: 10.24 KB (10240 bytes)
MD5: cb24b3c809514b66f56779e2097aa6b9
Detection count: 34
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: May 31, 2017