Smile, you can recover files encrypted by the CryptXXX ransomware

Security experts at Kaspersky have found a way to decrypt files locked by the CryptXXX ransomware by using the RannohDecryptor utility.

Good news for the victims of ransomware, the security experts at Kaspersky Lab have successfully cracked the CryptXXX  ransomware.

The CryptXXX ransomware was first spotted by experts from Proofpoint in April when a number of compromised websites hosting the Angler exploit kit were abused to serve the threat and infect Windows machines.

CryptXXX encrypts local files and any other document present on every connected data storage a short time after the PC has been infected. The threat also steals Bitcoins from the victim’s machines.

The malware authors use the delay in order to make harder for victims the identifications of the malicious website used to compromise their machines.

The files are encrypted with RSA4096 encryption and the CryptXXX ransomware demands the payment of a $500 ransom in bitcoins for decrypting the data back.

Like other ransomware, CryptXXX instructs victims about the payment process, it drops an image on the desktop containing the instructions to download the Tor browser and access an Onion service containing the instructions.

Now experts at Kaspersky cracked the CryptXXX ransomware and released the RannohDecryptor utility, that was initially designed to recover files encrypted by the Rannoh ransomware.

Victims of the CryptXXX ransomware have to use it by providing an original (not encrypted) version of at least one file present on the infected machine.

Below the instructions published by Kaspersky in a blog post:

Then you need to do the following:

1. Download the tool and launch it.

1. Open Settings and choose drive types (removable, network or hard drive) for scanning. Don’t check the “Delete crypted files after decryption” option until you are 100% that decrypted files open properly.

3. Click the “Start scan” link and choose where the encrypted .crypt file lies (that file, for which you have an unencrypted copy as well).

4. Then the tool will ask for the original file.

5. After that RannohDecryptor starts searching for all other files with “.crypt” extension and tries to decrypt all files, which weigh less than your original. The bigger file you’ve feed to the utility — the more files would be decrypted.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – CryptXXX ransomware , cybercrime)