backmydata

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

ALL SECTIONS BELOW ARE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE “BACKMYDATA” RANSOMWARE STRAIN
(commonly tagged with the extension & variant names: .backMyData, .BackMyData, .BACKMYDATA, and the original Phobos suffixes such as id[….].[[attacker_email]].backMyData)

Technical Breakdown

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

• Confirmation of File Extension: .backmydata (case-insensitive but usually mixed-case on Windows, e.g., presentation.docx.BackMyData).

• Renaming Convention:
Original → filename.ext.id[8-digit-hex-victim-ID].[[attacker_email]].backmydata
Example:
Report_Q2.xlsx → Report_Q2.xlsx.id[9A1B2C3D].[[email protected]].BACKMYDATA

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

• First public samples: late-Q3 2023 (September–October 2023).
• Sharp spike in campaigns observed mid-November 2023 (mass credential-stuffing against RDP).
• New intermittent waves spotted through April 2024, tied to fresh “support” emails & cracked software torrents.

3. Primary Attack Vectors

• Propagation Mechanisms:

  1. RDP brute-force / password spray → lateral movement with PsExec & WMI.
  2. Exploitation of unpatched VPN appliances (Citrix ADC, FortiGate) → direct device infection.
  3. Malicious email attachments (ISO, ZIP, OneNote) → PowerShell or .NET loader.
  4. Cracked installers (keygens, torrent game packs) bundled with the BackMyData payload.
  5. Post-exploitation use of Cobalt Strike Beacon before the ransomware is dropped.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention

• Close TCP/UDP ports 3389, 445, 135 externally or restrict to known IP ranges via firewall rules.
• Enforce SMB signing + disable the obsolete SMBv1 protocol; no exceptions.
• Harden RDP: account lockout, use of RDP gateways with MFA, NLA required.
• Apply VPN security patches (Feb 2024 FortiGate, Jan 2024 Ivanti), and retire legacy DMZ devices.
• Backups: follow 3-2-1 rule (three copies, two media types, one offline/air-gapped), and test restores monthly.
• Mail/endpoint filters: quarantine OneNote, ISO, and script-laden archives.
• Application whitelisting (Microsoft Defender ASR rules / WDAC) blocks unsigned PsExec/WMI executions.
• Use just-in-time admin privileges (Privileged Access Workstations) for domain admins.

2. Removal (Step-by-Step)

  1. Isolate: physically disconnect or disable network adapters on affected machines.
  2. Forensic snapshot: image disks (dd or FTK) before any reboot; keep for LE & IR.
  3. Identifying persistence:
    a) Inspect HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run for random 8-char values.
    b) Check System32\Tasks for “Volume Shadow Copy” or nonsensical .bat files.
  4. Boot into Safe Mode + Networking or an offline PE.
  5. Stop hostile processes: common names BackMyData.ex, winlog.exe, lsm.exe.
    – Use Malwarebytes, Trend Micro Ransomware Removal (TRU), or Kaspersky Rescue Disk.
  6. Delete artifacts: erase the dropped binaries and scheduled tasks; registry cleanup via Autoruns.
  7. Patch the entry point (VPN/RDP) and force password resets for all privileged accounts; enable MFA.

3. File Decryption & Recovery

• Recovery Feasibility: Files encrypted by BackMyData use Salsa20 symmetric + RSA-2048 asymmetric keys, same model as Phobos. No free public decryptor exists at this time (May 2024). Every victim’s RSA key pair is unique; cracking it is computationally prohibitive.
• Exceptions:
– If a paying victim acquires the private key and it is later shared (or leaked) via law-enforcement, NoMoreRansom will publish the tool. Monitor its repository.
– Shadow-copy deletion can be incomplete on Windows Server instances that had SQL/VSS writer sessions open; run vssadmin list shadows before recovery attempt.
• Essential Tools/Patches:
– SHA-256 tool for full disk audit: 7zip, sigcheck –h *
– Open-source YARA (Phobos/BackMyData rules on GitHub ‘trendmicro/phobos’) for triage.
– Latest Windows cumulative patches (Windows 10 22H2 KB5034441, Server 2019 KB5034439 – cover SMB, WinRM, and RDP exploits).

4. Other Critical Information

• Unique Characteristics:
– Re-emergence under new TTPs after initial Phobos shutdown campaign; operators now favor direct email→victim negotiations rather than Tor chat.
– Minor code change: the ransomware now scans for .scf, .lnk, and .url files first before encryption—a sign of intent to wipe shortcuts that could lead to backups.
– Encrypted README is info.txt; it contains [email protected], [email protected], and an onion personal page, but does not demand prior contact—keys and BTC wallets start in the ransom note.
• Broader Impact:
– Estimated >150 orgs hit by BackMyData variant worldwide (Interpol bulletin 2024-04).
– Industries heavily targeted include healthcare (Germany, US) and manufacturing (Italy).
– Some affiliates bundle BackMyData with system-crasher junk (ChaCha20 wiper on Linux ESXi)—organizations that restore from snapshots without verifying signature may find data doubly destroyed.

Stay current—Raptor Motion (Phobos) threat-intel report v4.7 is expected to release updated IOCs; subscribe at the NoMoreRansom website.