Wallet Ransomware

Posted: March 3, 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:	64

First Seen:	March 3, 2017
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Wallet Ransomware is a new version of the Dharma Ransomware, a builder-generated Trojan that different threat actors can configure with the intent of locking various types of files for money. After encrypting your local data, the Wallet Ransomware creates messages asking for Bitcoin payments to give you the decryptor, which may or may not work as advertised. Using anti-malware products to protect your PC from the Wallet Ransomware is equally as important as possessing backups to give you recovery choices not entailing paying a ransom.

Opening Your Wallet for Some Digital Plundering

Although not been the family with the greatest number of variants necessarily, CrySiS builder-based threats like the Dharma Ransomware still are a mentionable force in the black market for file-encrypting threats. Malware analysts detected a new threat from this fork of the main project recently, either as an update from old threat actors or a new release from a new team of con artists. This new threat, the Wallet Ransomware, continues demonstrating the efficacy of collecting money by locking a PC's data selectively.

The Wallet Ransomware is a full-featured file encryptor Trojan that uses an AES cipher to 'block' any files fitting its list of formats to attack. Malware experts also verify it using file name modifiers such as '.wallet' extensions and inserted identifier numbers. When done, it also launches an additional image file that delivers its ransoming instructions: paying a Bitcoin fee to its author in exchange for the decryption code for your data.

The Wallet Ransomware version of the Crysis Ransomware uses encryption functions that third-party security researchers can't crack. However, there are no real protections to keep a con artist from accepting the ransom without giving you the decoding service in return.

Shrinking the Contents of a Cyber Crook's Wallet

Con artists who wield file-encrypting threats like the Wallet Ransomware may compromise business servers by targeting their e-mail accounts with forged e-mail messages or even break login passwords directly (a process known as a 'brute force' attack). Non-business entities and individuals are more likely to infect their PCs by visiting corrupted websites hosting drive-by-downloads and Exploit Kits like the Rig EK. Having your security software scan any unusual downloads, changing passwords and disabling vulnerabilities like JavaScript are some of the traditional defenses malware analysts can endorse.

However, none of the above protections can provide decrypting assistance for an already-infected computer. Threats like the Wallet Ransomware and its near relatives, such as the 'webmafia@asia.com' Ransomware and the 'wisperado@india.com' Ransomware, have the potential to lock your files permanently. Storing external backups can let you recover your files without decrypting them in rare instances where your anti-malware solutions don't remove the Wallet Ransomware immediately.

The high activity of this branch of the Crysis Ransomware is a strong clue that at least one group of threat actors remains committed to this category of threats as a profitable business model. The sooner any victims can deprive them of that profit, the sooner malware experts will cease seeing Trojans like the Wallet Ransomware.

Wallet Ransomware

Threat Metric

Opening Your Wallet for Some Digital Plundering

Shrinking the Contents of a Cyber Crook's Wallet

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