Kraken Ransomware

The Kraken Ransomware is a Trojan that may encrypt your files to block them, while also generating pop-ups to demand ransom money for decrypting them. While paying the Kraken Ransomware's threat actors can give you your media back potentially, it also may result in no help from the con artist in question. Malware experts recommend backing up any important data on your PC and using anti-malware protection standards for removing the Kraken Ransomware before it can attack.

The Tendrils of a Threat Suffocating Your Files

Originally known as a mythical creature of the deep sea, the Kraken rapidly is becoming a favorite symbol for the ever-present and multitudinous threat of threatening software. Threat authors also are taking to theme with at least one campaign, the Kraken Ransomware, which uses a combination of encryption and high-visibility ransom notes for creating illicit income. Although its attacks are similar in format to those of multiple, past threats, malware analysts can't confirm any relationships with the Kraken Ransomware and other families of file-encoding Trojans.

The Kraken Ransomware encodes the victim's files with an algorithm still under investigation, although both AES-RSA and Blowfish are popular choices with different threats of its category. If not interrupted during the scanning and encoding routine, which should show no symptoms to the active PC user, the Kraken Ransomware blocks the affected files from being read by all associated applications. This attack forms the incentive of the Kraken Ransomware's extortion attempt.

Malware experts also saw the Kraken Ransomware using nearly the same file-renaming technique in conjunction with the above as other Trojans, such as the Donald Trump Ransomware and the Comrade Circle Ransomware. Although the Kraken Ransomware uses a new extension ('.Kraken'), it also replaces the rest of the file name with a Base64 string, much like those two threats.

The Kraken Ransomware then creates a custom Web page with a ransom note including details such as the current price for buying the decryptor, how much content the Kraken Ransomware is encrypting, and a time limit corresponding to the price doubling.

Sending the Kraken Ransomware Back out to Sea

Because of the uncertain availability of free decryptors, the Kraken Ransomware is a particular hazard to PC users who don't take the time to back their content up to removable drives or network storage. These backups may be your only means of recovering the encoded data without sending money to con artists, who, just as often, can take the money and do nothing else. For the sufficiently unprepared, multiple-purpose decryption tools from the PC security industry and professional data recovery products may be secondary recovery tactics.

Malware researchers see threats of the Kraken Ransomware's classification circulating through e-mails regularly. Less common, but still notable infection vectors also may include targeted attacks against Remote Desktop systems and software piracy-related downloads. All non-manual installation efforts are preventable by anti-malware products acting to block and delete the Kraken Ransomware before it scans any content.

The integrity of the contents of your hard drive is only as safe as your personal behavior. Unless you take extreme measures to avoid exposing your PC any risky content, making an occasional backup and updating your anti-malware products can be vital in the fight against emerging threats like the Kraken Ransomware.

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