Experts uncovered a new GlobeImposter Ransomware malspam campaign

Experts observed cybercriminals are conducting a new malspam campaign to distribute a new variant of the GlobeImposter ransomware

According to Lawrence Abrams from BleepingComputer, crooks are conducting a new malspam campaign to distribute a new variant of the GlobeImposter ransomware that appends the “..doc” extension to encrypted files.

The malicious messages pretend to have attached photos being sent to the recipient and have a subject line similar to “Emailing: IMG_20171221_”.

The messages include 7zip (.7z) archive attachments that are named after a camera photo’s filename such as IMG_[date]_[number]. The archive contains an obfuscated .js file, when victims double-click on will trigger the downloading of GlobeImposter ransomware from a remote server and execute it.

“After the executable is downloaded, it will be executed and the GlobeImposter ransomware will begin to encrypt the computer. When encrypting files on the computer it will append the ..doc extension to encrypted file’s name. For example, a file called 1.doc would be renamed to 1.doc..doc.” states the analysis published by Abrams.

Once encrypted the files, the GlobeImposter ransomware create a ransom note named Read___ME.html in each folder a file is encrypted. Victims are instructed to visit the http://n224ezvhg4sgyamb.onion/sup.php onion site that provides an email address to contact (server5@mailfence.com) to receive payment instructions and to decrypt one file for free. The note also includes a link to a support website that can be used by victims to send messages to the cyber criminals.

Lawrence confirmed that file encrypted by the GlobeImposter ransomware cannot be decrypted for free.

Below the list of recommendations provided by the experts to protect your system from ransomware attacks.

Backup, Backup, Backup!
Do not open attachments if you do not know who sent them.
Do not open attachments until you confirm that the person actually sent you them.
Enable the showing of file extensions.
If an attachment ends with .js, .vbs, .exe, .scr, or .bat, do not open them for any reason.
Scan attachments with tools like VirusTotal.
Make sure all Windows updates are installed as soon as they come out! Also make sure you update all programs, especially Java, Flash, and Adobe Reader. Older programs contain security vulnerabilities that are commonly exploited by malware distributors. Therefore it is important to keep them updated.
Make sure you use have some sort of security software installed that uses behavioral detections or white list technology. White listing can be a pain to train, but if your willing to stock with it, could have the biggest payoffs.
Use hard passwords and never reuse the same password at multiple sites.

If you are interested in Indicators of Compromise give a look at the blog post.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – GlobeImposter ransomware, cybercrime)

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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”.