Avaddon ransomware decryptor released, but operators quickly reacted

An expert released a free decryption tool for the Avaddon ransomware, but operators quickly updated malware code to make it inefficient.

The Spanish student Javier Yuste has released a free decryption tool for the Avaddon ransomware that can be used by the victims to recover their encrypted files for free.

Yuste is a student at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, he developed the AvaddonDecrypter utility that could be used by victims of the ransomware when their computers should not have been powered off after the infection.

The utility developed by the experts dumps the RAM memory of the infected system and scans it for data that could allow to recover the encryption key.

“If enough information is recovered, the tool can then be used to decrypt files and help victims recover from Avaddon attacks without needing to pay the gang’s ransom demand.” reported ZDNet.

Unfortunately, the Avaddon ransomware operators were informed of the availability of the decryptor and released an update for the code of their malware that makes the tool inefficient.

Source ZDNet

Multiple security experts pointed out that the decision to publicly release decryption tools is not a good option when the decryptor exploit some flaws in the malware code, because it could help ransomware operators to fix the issues.

The fact that the Avaddon ransomware operators quickly addressed their code demonstrate the efficiency of their operations.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Avaddon ransomware)

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Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.