Mordor Ransomware

Posted: May 2, 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:	15

First Seen:	May 2, 2017
Last Seen:	April 18, 2018
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Mordor Ransomware is a modified version of the Karmen Ransomware branch of Hidden Tear, a Trojan that encrypts the PC's local files and generates extortion-themed messages for its victims. Having up-to-date backups elsewhere is the simplest means of recovering data from this Trojan's attack, and malware experts emphasize the default risks in following any decryption advice from extortionists. Most systems with anti-malware protection should remove the Mordor Ransomware before any file-damaging functions commence.

Feeling a Burning Gaze on Your Files

While other families and independent ransom-based Trojan campaigns still are thriving, Hidden Tear is keeping its place as a recurring source of steep competition in the threat industry. The ease of putting this once-educational code towards legitimate twisted goals is more than evident with the daily production of new threats basing themselves off of it, such as the Lord of the Rings-inspired the Mordor Ransomware. Its admins, while not yet identifiable, are supporting their literary-themed threat with a ransom-processing server hosting images custom to this attack campaign.

The Mordor Ransomware may include any network-accessible drives in its scans for files to encrypt, in a routine that targets documents and other, non-integral data formats not needed by the Windows operating system. In addition to enciphering this media with an AES algorithm, thereby blocking them from opening, the Mordor Ransomware also appends its personal extension ('.mordor') to their names without removing the original ones.

The Mordor Ransomware's admins chose to deliver HTML-based ransom messages that serve for redirecting any victims to a Tor-protected server for processing Bitcoin transactions primarily. Although both the wallet address and Bitcoin sums are configurable values, malware analysts are finding current attacks demanding roughly one hundred USD in cryptocurrency payments.

Rescuing Your Files from Evil's Immolation

The original Lord of the Rings books conclude with the defeat of evil through the sacrifice of a hapless side character, and, for some PC users, giving up their files may be a prerequisite for resolving a Mordor Ransomware infection safely. Paying ransoms to Trojan-distributing extortionists never guarantees that they'll reciprocate with a decryptor or other data-recovery solution, and the continuing use of TOR and cryptocurrency enhances the built-in risks of these payments. However, malware analysts do recommend that victims without backups rely upon decryption via freeware utilities specific to Hidden Tear, which various security organizations provide at no charge.

Although the Mordor Ransomware's threat actors appear to be of Russian origin, independent extortionists may rent this Trojan's services for attacking arbitrary targets around the world. Such attacks may use infection methods that vary from website-based exploit kits to spam e-mails. Comprehensive anti-malware, browser and network security solutions are essential for detecting and removing the Mordor Ransomware before it damages any of your files.

PC users without a recent backup may find it highly attractive to follow the simple, seven-step instructions the Mordor Ransomware offers on its ransoming server. However, trusting the Mordor Ransomware's admins to retrieve your files after they take your money arguably is no better than handing the Lord of the Rings his pertinent jewelry and hoping for mercy.

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:

dir\6306.js

File name: 6306.js
Size: 21.84 KB (21841 bytes)
MD5: 90b6b02c2537dff0a4f816176aeb4814
Detection count: 69
File type: JavaScript file
Mime Type: unknown/js
Path: dir
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: May 3, 2017