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OpenToYou Ransomware

Posted: January 3, 2017

Threat Metric

Threat Level: 8/10
Infected PCs: 28
First Seen: January 3, 2017
Last Seen: April 14, 2022
OS(es) Affected: Windows

The OpenToYou Ransomware is a Trojan that hijacks your wallpaper and locks your files so that it can force you to transfer ransom money to a con artist's account. Currently, this Trojan uses an insecure data-locking method that is freely reversible for PC users who fail to implement appropriate backup protocols. Since this Trojan is still in development, use proactive anti-malware protection to guard against any possible infection vectors and delete the OpenToYou Ransomware before its payload can activate.

A Threat Coder's Mistake that may Come Back to Haunt Your PC

Bugs in threatening software may be a coin flip as to whether the ultimate effect helps or hurts either their authors or their victims. Nowhere is this easier to see than with file-encrypting threats, which, due to tampering with long lists of files, have the potential to damage various programs or the OS. Malware analysts recommend that readers look at the OpenToYou Ransomware as a newly-detected illustration of a Trojan that hurts even more that its author intends.

The OpenToYou Ransomware is a file-encrypting threat that uses a semi-uncommon RC4 cipher to block your files and, then, demand ransom money. It can target over a hundred file formats, including popular ones like the Microsoft Office content, in addition to niche ones, such as a replay data for the World of Tanks multiplayer game. It also locks data without any extensions in the filenames.

The OpenToYou Ransomware tries to avoid damaging the operating system and makes it difficult for the victim to pay its ransom. However, malware analysts can confirm an oversight in the OpenToYou Ransomware's blacklist that could lead to the Trojan encrypting the 'bootmgr' file that some Windows systems use to boot. Therefore, post-reboot, a successful OpenToYou Ransomware payload can lock the users out of their entire PCs, stopping them from reading the ransom messages the Trojan creates for demanding cash coincidentally.

Taking Advantage of a Digital Lock with Structural Weaknesses

The intended progression of the OpenToYou Ransomware's payload is to encipher your content, flag their filenames with an extension bearing the e-mail address for ransoming negotiations ('.-openToYou@india.com') and drop additional warning messages via the desktop background and a secondary text file. However, thanks to its maker's coding oversight, any users may need to boot their PCs from a peripheral device or perform a Windows repair installation before they can see any of the Trojan's other symptoms.

RC4 is an encryption method rarely-used for good reasons, and malware analysts verify that the OpenToYou Ransomware is highly susceptible to third-party decryption attempts. Using decryption software on offer by some security organizations can provide a ransom-free recovery option for victims without backups. Whether or not decryption is a necessity, malware analysts encourage using dedicated anti-malware tools both for deleting the OpenToYou Ransomware and identifying all related threats responsible for the infection.

In some ways, the OpenToYou Ransomware is a story with an immediate happy ending, since victims who temper their responses with caution are unlikely to lose their data permanently. However, just as much, its payload shows that even the simplest mistakes in a program's code can escalate to the point of no return, even up to 'bricking' an unprotected system.

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