Locky Diablo6 Ransomware

Posted: August 10, 2017

Threat Metric

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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.

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Threat Level:	10/10
Infected PCs:	9

First Seen:	August 10, 2017
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Locky Diablo6 Ransomware is a new version of the '.locky File Extension' Ransomware family that still encrypts your media so that it can receive money by offering its decryption help. Being unable to open files with unusual, new extensions and seeing ransom-themed pop-ups are common symptoms of the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware and its family, which is circulating via spam e-mail. Scanning files with anti-malware programs can remove the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware or Trojan droppers that try to install it, and backups can keep your data protected from any local encryption damages.

A Real Devil of a File-Locker

Once one of the most active families of file-encoding Trojans, the .locky File Extension' Ransomware has been in reduced use in recent weeks, possibly due to the shift towards alternatives like the CryptMix Ransomware. However, malware researchers can confirm the existence of at least one holdout of a threat actor using this family to its full purpose. The Locky Diablo6 Ransomware campaign is deploying through methods commonly preferred for attacking unprotected business networks so that it can encrypt content that's worth holding hostage for ransoms.

Arbitrary targets are receiving spam e-mail messages with disguises implying that they're documents or other, work-related content associated with internal office communications. Subject lines also use document-related extensions, although the attachments are ZIP archives. Opening the attached files launches Trojan droppers designed to install and run the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware, which proceeds to scan the PC for data to encrypt.

The Locky Diablo6 Ransomware's AES and RSA-based encryption method is, so far, unbreakable by conventional decoding research strategies and there isn't a free decryptor for it or its family. The Trojan also will insert '.Diablo6' extensions, instead of the previous '.locky' one, onto the names of the blocked media, and replaces the rest of the name with arbitrary hexadecimal characters.

The only additional symptom malware experts can verify in the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware's payload is the pop-up it loads afterward: a local Web page that recommends using its TOR-based ransoming website to buy its decryptor.

A Ward for Your Files against Demonic Possession

Since the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware specifies the Bitcoin crypto currency's use for any ransoms, threat actors using this Trojan are free to accept their payment without giving any services back, for no penalty. The Locky Diablo6 Ransomware's family also is one of the several groups of file-locking Trojans that may delete default backups on the infected PC, which is why malware experts suggest that users not save all backups onto local drives. Password-protecting your cloud storage or using secondary, removable drives can give your media a backup option that the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware can't compromise.

As a standardized footprint removal tactic, the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware tries to uninstall its encryption executable. However, this attempt may not always be successful, and the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware's presence usually will correspond to that of other Trojans also attacking the PC. Professional anti-malware products can remove the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware, quarantine any other threats, or, preferably, stop any early, e-mail-based attacks.

Families of Trojans like the Locky Diablo6 Ransomware and the '.locky File Extension' Ransomware come and go, but the methods they employ often are surprisingly consistent. Until workers remember to adhere to straightforward, secure data redundancy policies and avoid clicking on errant e-mail attachments, Trojans like this one are going to remain successful financially.

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:

diablo6.htm

File name: diablo6.htm
Size: 8.58 KB (8584 bytes)
MD5: fc2d696b5729d08fd14070919edc751e
Detection count: 13
Mime Type: unknown/htm
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 11, 2017