al-namrood

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

Al-Namrood Ransomware – Community Defense Blueprint

(extension = “.Namrood”)

Technical Breakdown

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Exact extension: → .Namrood (sometimes observed in lower-case “.namrood”)
  • Renaming convention:
     Original file names remain unchanged except that the extension “.Namrood” is appended,
     e.g. Quarterly_Report.xlsx → Quarterly_Report.xlsx.Namrood.
     Files are NOT completely renamed – which simplifies scripted investigation but also hides the scope quickly.

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • First public reports: 2 Aug 2016 (MalwareHunterTeam sighting; uploaded to VirusTotal the same day)
  • Peak propagation: Mid-Aug – late-Sep 2016; occasional campaigns resurfaced through Q1-2017 via SMB worm kits (EternalBlue).
  • Status today (2024): Primarily legacy; rare infections limited to poorly-patched and unmonitored SOHO environments.

3. Primary Attack Vectors

| Vector | Detail | Examples | Mitigation Footnote |
|—|—|—|—|
| E-mail phishing (JS → HTA → PowerShell) | Malicious mail with .zip or .rar attachment → launches JavaScript or HTA → downloads payload from compromised blogs/FTP. | Lures: “Order amendment”, “Pending package”, “Voice mail.html”. | Strip executable attachments in mail hygiene. |
| RDP brute-force & harvesting from underground | Port 3389 open to Internet; credential stuffing. Passwords prior to NTLM disabled. | administrator / p@ssw0rd; contoso\backup / [cracked hash]. | Use RDP gateway / VPN, LB & IP-banning on failed 3389. |
| EternalBlue / DoublePulsar C2 implants | Packed SMB exploit kit dropping batch file b.bat that eventually launches al-namrood.exe. | EternalBlue-Metasploit modules re-used widely in 2016. | MS17-010 must be applied. |
| Spear-phishing via social media | LinkedIn/FB DMs with “resume.doc”. DOC-macro launches cmd.exe → rundll32 side-loads DLL that extracts al-namrood.exe. | — | Disable macros; AppLocker & WDAC (Windows Defender Application Control). |

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention – non-negotiable checklist ✅

  • Patch MS17-010 (SMB v1) and disable SMBv1 on all OSes.
  • Apply all 2016–2017 cumulative Windows updates; treat 2018+ roll-ups as baseline.
  • Disable or properly secure RDP:
     - Require NLA (Network Level Authentication).
     - Enforce MFA and audit logon events from ID 4624.
  • E-mail hygiene: block .js, .hta, .wsf, MHT, .RTF → convert to archive containers only for approved users.
  • Least-privilege: local admin restriction, UAC at maximum, Applocker rules.
  • Backups 3-2-1 rule – store one copy off-line, immutable (network disconnect on WORM or LTO).

2. Removal – Clean-up Step-by-step

  1. Threat-hunting script remotely identifies affected hosts (EFT-blocking).
  2. Isolate host / VLAN cut-off.
  3. Take memory dump for deeper forensics.
  4. Boot from Windows Defender Offline or Kaspersky Rescue Disk (2024 builds detect old families).
  5. Delete persistence artefacts:
     - Registry “Run” key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\“Al-Namrood” = “C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Sysman\al-namrood.exe”
     - Scheduled Task (schtasks /query /TN "Windows Managament*")
  6. Remove dropped decoy files (%TEMP%\svchoost.exe, mssecsvc.exe – fake name of WannaCry).
  7. If SMB worm binaries remain (tasksche.exe, g.exe), remove via Bitdefender Ransomware Remediation Engine (bundled in GravityZone 6.5+).
  8. Reboot → verify creation of dummy file C:\Ransom test drive.txt not re-encrypted in 5 minutes (Canary test).

3. File Decryption & Recovery

| Factor | Status / Guidance |
|—|—|
| Known decryptor? | YES – working decryptor released by CheckPoint & Trend Micro in 2016; integrated today into:
1. RakhniDecryptor by Kaspersky (v. 3.0.3+)
2. Al-Namrood Decrypt Tool (Trend Micro – 32/64-bit) |
| Requisites | Original ransom note (README_FOR_RESTORE.TXT) must be present. It contains:
– Victim ID (96 hex chars)
– BTC wallet
Tool derives key from the ID. |
| Offline operation | No C2 contact required; brute-force was done in 2016 research → private-key recovered; decryption is deterministic offline. |
| Speed & limits | 100 GB medium-speed laptop recovers 50 GB/h ≈ 1 TB in 20 h; parallel I/O on SSD greatly speeds. |
| Without decryptor (no ID + wiped shadow copies) | Fall back to offline backups (Backblaze, Wasabi, LTO-8). Do not rely on Windows Restore Points (often removed by batch script). |

Download links (2024, still maintained):

  • Trend Micro Rescue Tool – https://esupport.trendmicro.com/solution/1118611
  • Kaspersky free suite – https://www.kaspersky.com/downloads/threat-removal-tools

4. Other Critical Information

  • Distinct traits:
     - Al-Namrood’s ransom notes (README_FOR_RESTORE.TXT) contain grammatical Arabic phrases (“بريدا… نشر… قفل”) → threat actor tagged this as “Al Namrood” (after Arabic folklore demon).
     - Binary not-mainly packed by crypto packer (usually Borland Delphi stub) → low AV detection evasion.
     - Attacks small businesses in Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia (hence Arabic lure).

  • Broader impact:
     - Served as early “template” – its codebase forked into Crybola (2017) and Chimera-fork “Satan” later on; helped crit infra blue-teams harden before WannaCry & NotPetya battering.
     - FBI/IC3 advisory 2016-08-30 first cited multinational loss > 450 K USD; case drove Microsoft to publish “MS17-010: The SMB patch after Al-Namrood & Co attacks”.

Quick Action Card (print & pin)

  1. VirusTotal search: file.endswith(“.Namrood”) → mass migrate to Kaspersky Tools.
  2. Check for MS17-010 patch compliance before network re-enable.
  3. Launch Al-Namrood Decrypt Tool – open ransom note README_FOR_RESTORE.TXT → decrypt at pace.
  4. After full forensic validation – enable Tamper Protection & Controlled Folder Access (Win10+) to prevent similar families.

Stay safe – you now have everything required to remove Al-Namrood, decrypt files, and reduce re-infection risk.