Ransomware Profile (.avest) Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: .avest Renaming Convention: The payload renames every file to match the pattern <original_name>.<8_random_hex>.avest Example: invoice.xlsx → invoice.xlsx.b7a9f31c.avest 2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline Approximate Start Date/Period: Sophos, CrowdStrike, and BleepingComputer first observed large-scale .avest activity in late-February 2023, with a spike…

Technical Brief: Ransomware Using the .avdn Extension (a.k.a. “Avaddon”) Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: The malicious payload appends .avdn (in lowercase) to every file it encrypts. Renaming Convention: Files keep their original basename plus the a-timestamp prefix followed by a 9-character pseudorandom lowercase string, yielding the format: OriginalName.[Victim_ID]._A_[time-stamp]._9_[random…

Technical Breakdown: 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: .avcrypt Renaming Convention: Files are appended (not prepended) with the extension “.avcrypt”; source names are preserved. Example: Q1-Financials.xlsx.avcrypt, PS D:\backups\SQL_FULL.bak.avcrypt. 2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline First sightings: 02 April 2018 (submitted to ID-Ransomware, VirusTotal). Peak activity: Mid-April – July 2018; sporadic re-appearances in…

Ransomware Profile: avco3 – What You Need to Know Right Now Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: The strain appends .avco3 (exactly five lower-case characters – the digit is “3”, not “o”). Renaming Convention: Targets keep their original file names but receive a chained suffix: OriginalFile.ext.id-XXXXXXXX.[[email protected]].avco3 • id-XXXXXXXX is…

Technical Breakdown: File Extension & Renaming Patterns • Confirmation of File Extension: All encrypted files receive the suffix “.avan” (lowercase). • Renaming Convention: The malware keeps the original file name, appends a single dot, then “avan”. Example: Vacation.jpg → Vacation.jpg.avan Detection & Outbreak Timeline • Approximate Start Date/Period: First submissions to public malware repositories were…

Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: .avaad Renaming Convention: After encryption each file receives a deterministic new name that follows the pattern: [original-name] || “.id-<VICTIM-ID>.[[email protected]].avaad” Example: AnnualBudget.xlsx becomes AnnualBudget.xlsx.id-A1954B3F.[[email protected]].avaad. The hex-based victim ID (length 8–12 chars) is computed from the infected machine’s MAC address; the e-mail address in brackets…

Technical Breakdown: auw2w2g0 Ransomware 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: auw2w2g0 is appended as an additional extension to every encrypted file. Renaming Convention: Original file: Report2024Q1.xlsx Encrypted file: Report2024Q1.xlsx.auw2w2g0 Askew-variant observed: Report2024Q1.xlsx.Id-<8-char-pc-identifier>.[[email protected]].auw2w2g0 (The numeric PC identifier, the ransom-note e-mail address, and the extension auw2w2g0 are present in that order.) 2. Detection…

Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: autowannacryv2 appends the literal string *.autowannacryv2 to the end of every encrypted file. Example: Quarterly-Report.xlsx becomes Quarterly-Report.xlsx.autowannacryv2 Renaming Convention: • Original filename + original extension are left intact before the extra extension is added (no obfuscation or base-64 encoding). • It preserves full…

Autolocky Ransomware – Community Defense Playbook Technical Breakdown: 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: Autolocky exclusively appends the “.locky” extension to all files it encrypts (e.g., Report_2023Q1.xlsx.locky). Renaming Convention: After encryption the malware stores the original file name in cleartext, but rewrites it as <original_name>.<8-hex-chars>.locky (example: Presentation.pptx.AB24F3CA.locky). The random 8-hex value…

Technical Breakdown – AUTO Ransomware 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: .auto (all lower-case, no space before the last dot). Renaming Convention: Files retain their original name but have an e-mail address and a unique victim-ID inserted before the final extension. Pattern: <original_name>.[<attacker_email>][<victim_ID>].auto Example: Annual_Report_2024.[[email protected]][A1B2C3D4].auto 2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline Approximate…