XCrypt Ransomware

The XCrypt Ransomware is a Trojan that blocks your files by encrypting them, a process that makes the file data unreadable until you decode it with a decryptor. Con artists use these attacks to demand ransom fees from their victims, which they usually will protect through such means as cryptocurrencies that render the transfer non-refundable. Until third parties make a public decryptor available, malware researchers suggest backing up any meaningful data and using anti-malware products to delete the XCrypt Ransomware and preempt its attacks.

Reusing Old Brand Labels for New Russian Trojans

Unless they intend to put significant work into a brand-new threat and its corresponding campaign, the con artists have little incentive to create new 'brands' instead of borrowing the infamy of old, well-known ones. For the most part, these copycats are attempts to fake attacks from particularly threatening Trojans like the Globe Ransomware or the Jigsaw Ransomware. However, sometimes, con artists use a lesser branding tag, such as one sees with the new the XCrypt Ransomware.

Since its ransoming messages limit themselves to Cyrillic text strictly, the XCrypt Ransomware's campaign seemingly targets victims in Russia and adjacent countries exclusively. The Trojan's installer is larger than most similar threats at a size of three and a half megabytes and includes network activity in the installation process. However, since the XCrypt Ransomware contacts only 'safe' domains, such as windowsupdate.com, the activity may not be detectable as threatening immediately.

The XCrypt Ransomware uses a Mutex to prevent itself from infecting and encrypting the same PC multiple times. When it finishes installing, the XCrypt Ransomware uses encryption for locking content such as documents or pictures, which it detects by format and location. Note that malware experts don't connect the XCrypt Ransomware's payload to any filename-related activity, such as inserting a new extension (like, one would assume, '.XCrypt'). The XCrypt Ransomware's brand label comes from the follow-up JPG image, which identifies the Trojan with a custom logo while demanding ransom payments for unlocking your files.

Xing out the Last Trojan to Take What's Yours from You

The XCrypt Ransomware is part of a small but growing group of Trojans that, instead of avoiding targeting Russian victims (a common means of improving the threat actor's legal defenses), target them preferentially. It also is the only file-encrypting Trojan so far that malware analysts confirm as using ICQ for communicating its negotiation demands, which gives its con artists significant leeway in how much they choose to charge. However, the standard protections against the XCrypt Ransomware are consistent with those of most threats of this category: namely, keeping non-local backups and conservative web-browsing settings.

While no information has come to light on the XCrypt Ransomware's distribution methods, con artists often prefer installing this type of Trojan through forged e-mail messages. Scanning all attachments, including seemingly 'safe' ones like documents, can help your anti-malware programs alert you to this threat and remove the XCrypt Ransomware before the installer triggers. Since encryption-related file damage has the potential to be non-revertible, prevention is to be encouraged with all threats of this classification especially.

With its high detection rates, readers may hope that the XCrypt Ransomware's campaign will be a short-lived one. On the other hand, con artists are likely to continue creating similar forms of threatening software until the underlying payload philosophy ceases to be profitable.