Ransomware Targeting the Extension “.area” – Technical Primer & Recovery Playbook Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: Encrypted files receive the fixed secondary extension .area. The original extension is not overwritten; it is merely appended to. Example: Quarterly_Report.xlsx becomes Quarterly_Report.xlsx.area. Renaming Convention: • No prefix or altered base-name: victims…

Comprehensive Arcus Ransomware Resource Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: arcus Every affected file is suffixed with the lowercase string .arcus appended directly to the original file name (e.g., Project_Budget.xlsx.arcus). Renaming Convention: Arcus preserves the full original file name, only appending the new extension. Unlike some families (e.g., Sodinokibi),…

Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: architek appends .architek in lower-case (and occasionally .architek-MD5_of_MAC_address.\d\d ─ example: .architek-86d6a43e1d5a11c133c1bf8f00c0d8a3.00) to every encrypted file. Renaming Convention: – Original names are not modified; instead, the extension is simply concatenated. – Example: Quarterly_Report.xlsx becomes Quarterly_Report.xlsx.architek – The operator never overwrites or obfuscates the file…

Technical Breakdown: 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: .architects Renaming Convention: After encryption, files are appended with a 3-part composite extension: ¹ the attacker-controlled encryption-ID, ² e-mail address, and ³ .architects. Example (exact layout): Accounting-2023.xls.ID-C87F3A29.[[email protected]].architects Note: The decryption-ID (ID-…) is unique per victim and should be preserved intact if you ever…

Ransomware Reference Sheet: ARCH (Current as of May-2024 – last major campaign observed late 2023) Technical Breakdown 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns • Extension added: .*arch* (second extension; e.g. document.docx → document.docx.arch) • Renaming convention: Original file remains intact; a copy is AES-256 encrypted and renamed in the pattern <original_name>.<original_extension>.arch. Identical renaming across all logical…

==================================================== RANSOMWARE DOSSIER – ARAZITE VARIANT (.arazite file extension) Technical Break-down 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns • Confirmed Extension: .arazite (exact, no preceding banner nor hyphen) • Renaming Convention: Example walk-through: 2023-Sales-Forecast.xlsx → 2023-Sales-Forecast.xlsx.id-[8-10 HEX].arazite Keep note: – A fresh 8–10 character hexadecimal victim-ID is generated per infection. – The original file name and…

Aram Ransomware Threat Dossier Technical Breakdown: 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns File Extension: aram Renaming Convention: After encryption, each file is renamed to <original_file_name>.aram (appended, preserving the original name). Example: Q1_Profit.xlsx becomes Q1_Profit.xlsx.aram. 2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline First Sighting: mid-late April 2024, with a steep uptick in infections reported during May-June 2024 in…

Technical Break-down: Araicrypt Ransomware 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: .araicrypt (lower-case, appended to the original extension, e.g. budget.xlsx → budget.xlsx.araicrypt or scan.jpg → scan.jpg.araicrypt). Renaming Convention: – Araicrypt keeps the base filename and original extension intact—only the .araicrypt suffix is added. – No change is made to the file icon;…

Technical Breakdown: Arachna Ransomware (.arachna) 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: “.arachna” – appended after the original file extension (e.g., budget.xlsx.arachna). Renaming Convention: Uses simple suffix-only renaming without obfuscating the base filename. Inner archive/folder structures are preserved; thus, receipt_2024.pdf becomes receipt_2024.pdf.arachna. 2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline Approximate Start Date/Period: First publicly…

Technical Breakdown – Ransomware Family: Ara (“.ara”) 1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns Confirmation of File Extension: .ara Renaming Convention: After encryption the filename is modified to the pattern original_name.[attacker_email].ara Example: Q1-Financials.xlsx → Q1-Financials.xlsx.[[email protected]].ara 2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline Approximate Start Date/Period: Early-to-mid 2022 (first clustered sightings March 2022); spikes tracked throughout 2nd and 3rd…