Last week in security news, researchers observed the new PureLocker ransomware family using some unusual techniques to target enterprise production servers. Ransomware wasn’t the only type of malware that made headlines last week. A PowerShell-based script, a new backdoor and an info-stealing Trojan also generated attention in the security community for using interesting tactics and staging new attack campaigns.
Top Story of the Week: PureLocker’s Unique Tactics
Intezer and IBM X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services (IRIS) first came across PureLocker when they detected a sample masquerading as a C++ cryptography library called Crypto++. Further analysis revealed that the sample actually belonged to a ransomware family written in the PureBasic programming language, hence the name PureLocker.
Researchers observed the ransomware using two unusual techniques in its efforts to exclusively target enterprises’ production servers. First, they noticed PureLocker using several checks to verify the nature of its execution, a tactic that suggests the ransomware might be functioning as a component of a multi-stage attack. Second, they noticed the sample using anti-evasion tactics that other ransomware families rarely employ.
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- AnteFrigus Ransomware Not Targeting the C: Drive: In mid-November, Bleeping Computer learned of a malvertising campaign that’s using the RIG exploit kit to distribute samples of a new ransomware family called AnteFrigus. The threat differs from most ransomware families in that it targets removable drives and mapped network drives instead of the C: drive.
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Security Tip of the Week: Defend Against a Ransomware Attack
Security professionals can help their organizations prevent a ransomware infection by embracing the philosophy of threat hunting and using ethical hackers who can help identify gaps in their defenses. Companies should also make sure to implement a robust data backup strategy and test these backups so they can recover from a ransomware attack should they suffer one.
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