SyncCrypt Ransomware

Posted: August 16, 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:	8/10
Infected PCs:	660

First Seen:	August 16, 2017
Last Seen:	January 10, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The SyncCrypt Ransomware is a Trojan that attacks your local media by encrypting it to keep it from opening. Symptoms of its attacks also may include extension changes, hijacked desktop backgrounds, or ransom-themed pop-ups offering to sell you the decryption solution. Like any similarly classified threat, malware experts advise keeping backups to restore from in the event of an attack, and having anti-malware products eliminating the SyncCrypt Ransomware at the first opportunity.

Forty-Eight Hours to Make a Mistake

Mid-August is showing signs of another file-encrypting threat being readied for distribution to the public, using a custom installation method that tries to disguise the infection and similarly customized extortion instructions for the victims. While the SyncCrypt Ransomware's current encryption cipher is unidentifiable, the Trojan claims to be using a 'military grade encryption' technique and can block local content on the compromised PC legitimately. Malware experts have yet to determine whether the Trojan is compatible with free file-unlocking tools like StupidDecryptor.

The SyncCrypt Ransomware uses a Trojan downloader for distribution that downloads a secondary picture from a remote server. Unknown to the user, this image contains an obfuscated ZIP archive that reconstructs into the SyncCrypt Ransomware's executable, which conceals itself in a sub-directory of the Windows 'temp' folder. Then, the SyncCrypt Ransomware launches and begins scanning the PC without any overt symptoms, searching for media such as documents and pictures to lock with its encryption feature.

The SyncCrypt Ransomware also adds '.kk' extensions to any files it locks before creating a folder containing the various components of its ransom instructions, including a Web page, an image most likely swapped into the desktop's wallpaper, and additional text. The SyncCrypt Ransomware has an unusual structure for its ransoming demands that requires the victim to pay an amount of Bitcoins specified in a second message and e-mail three accounts with the protected version of the decryption key. The threat actors are only accepting payments within two days, which is most likely intended to provoke a quick payment by minimizing the time that's available for finding freeware solutions.

Desynchronizing Your Files from a Trojan's Military Grade Attacks

Current analyses of the SyncCrypt Ransomware are inconclusive regarding its decryption by third-party solutions. However, the Bitcoin transfers specified by its threat actor also make paying the ransom a questionable means of retrieving your media that's just as likely to deprive the victim of money for no recovery. These risks are endemic to many of the most prominently distributed threats of the past year, causing malware experts to encourage all users to back up any work that they can't afford to lose to encryption-based attacks.

The SyncCrypt Ransomware hides its primary file as a fake backup utility in a temporary files folder for Windows. While this choice of disguise could be coincidental, it also could imply that the Trojan is bundling its downloaders with free software. Other infection methods favored for file-locking threats include both e-mail and website-running exploit kits, both of which can initiate downloads without your full consent through abusing a variety of vulnerabilities. Common brands of anti-malware software may act to terminate drive-by-downloads or identify disguised threats and remove the SyncCrypt Ransomware, either preemptively or after an infection.

Trojans like the SyncCrypt Ransomware claiming to have flawless, unbreakable encryption standards for blocking your files are far more common than those that can prove their boasts. Regardless of any timing restraints, taking a moment to consider alternatives to ransoms never is a mistake for saving your files.

SyncCrypt Ransomware

Threat Metric

Forty-Eight Hours to Make a Mistake

Desynchronizing Your Files from a Trojan's Military Grade Attacks

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