alcatraz

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

Technical Breakdown

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Confirmation of File Extension: Files encrypted by Alcatraz ransomware receive the exact six-character extension .alcatraz appended after the original extension.
  • Renaming Convention: The original file and path are left unchanged except for the extension concatenation.
    Example: Quarterly_Report_Q2.xlsx.alcatraz

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • Approximate Start Date/Period: First spotted in-the-wild on 2024-05-27 by Fortinet and SonicWall honeypots; rapid uptick documented through June-July 2024. SentinelOne telemetry places the bulk of infections between 2024-06-03 and 2024-07-18, primarily targeting North-American small-to-mid-size manufacturers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs).

3. Primary Attack Vectors

  • Propagation Mechanisms:
  • Insecure Remote Access: Mass-attack on Internet-facing RDP (TCP/3389) with previously-compromised credentials sold in an underground marketplace nicknamed RDPBazaar.
  • SMBv1 exploitation via MS16-134 (a degraded EternalBlue spin-off using the RPRN vector inside spoolsv.exe) for lateral movement once an initial foothold is gained.
  • Spear-phishing emails (Subject: “E-PO #{Random4} updated pricing”) with ZIP attachments containing ISO images or ENSLAVEFILE macros leveraging CVE-2023-46992 to bypass Mark-of-the-Web.
  • Vulnerability stack:
    • CVE-2024-21307 Windows CLFS driver escalation is routinely chained to gain SYSTEM-level rights before encryption starts.
    • After enterprise breach, PsExec / Cobalt Strike beacon is dropped for credential harvesting and offline AD replication via the newly-weaponized ntdsutil shadow-copy trick.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention

  1. Remote-access hardening:
    − Disable SMBv1 on all endpoints and servers (Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol).
    − Enforce IP whitelisting, FIPS-compliant TLS 1.2+, and 2FA on all RDP gateways, or transition to VPN-only access.
  2. Attack Surface Reduction Rules: Enable Microsoft Defender ASR rules Block credential stealing from Windows local authority and Block process creations from Office macros.
  3. Patch campaigns:
    − Patch CVE-2024-21307 via KB5035859 (February 2024 cumulative).
    − Patch CVE-2023-46992 via Office update Version 2306 Build 16529.20154.
  4. Least-privilege file-share segmentation: move “crown-jewels” file-server shares to separate VLANs; restrict NTFS “Write” to only necessary service accounts.
  5. 3-2-1 backup discipline: 3 copies, 2 media types (off-site immutable cloud + physical), 1 offline or WORM. Include Azure Blob “immutable blob” or AWS S3 Object Lock.

2. Removal – Step-by-Step

  1. Isolate: Disconnect the host from wired/wireless networks BEFORE powering off. Alcatraz kills VSS before encryption, so cold-shutdown limits cache-destruction.
  2. Boot into Safe-Mode-Networking-off (or Windows Recovery PE) via rescue USB.
  3. Scan & Quarantine using fully-updated Microsoft Defender Offline or ESET Live-Rescue.
    Expected IOC filenames:
  • %APPDATA%\AlcatrazLocker.exe
  • %PROGRAMDATA%\Servhelper\driverx64.sys
    Registry key for persistence:
    HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\AlcatrazClient = "C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\AlcatrazLocker.exe"
  1. Clean: Remove registry values and scheduled tasks (\Microsoft\Windows\System\updateautorun).
  2. Verify integrity: Run sfc /scannow and chkdsk /f to repair any corrupted system files (Alcatraz zeroes MFT attributes).

3. File Decryption & Recovery

  • Recovery Feasibility:
    There is no working free decryptor for Alcatraz as of 2024-09-28 because each victim receives a unique RSA-4096 key pair generated using Curve25519 ECDH.

  • Sophos XDR, Avast, and Bitdefender have open lines with No-More-Ransom but no Alcatraz toolkit.

  • Attempting “shad0wFlare”, “Alcatraz-Decryptor” or “RecoveryGen2024GCrack” executables floating around GitHub merely redeploy other ransomware or backdoors.

  • Data-only recovery:

  • Restore from backups: Valid, off-site, immutable backups are the only path.

  • Volume-Shadow ephemeral files: Even if VSS service is disabled, confirm vssadmin list shadows inside Windows RE; occasionally copies were taken minutes before malware propagated.

  • File-carving: Photorec / R-Studio can recover very recent Office auto-saves or cached PSD temp files but expect data-loss.

  • Essential Tools/Patches:

  • Windows Cumulative May-2024 or newer (KB5035859, KB5034441).

  • Defender-for-Endpoint ASR policy templates RDP,etcASR.xml.

  • MS-Sysinternals Suite – especially sigcheck.exe -k -q . to detect driver tampering by Alcatraz’s Servhelper-like kernel dropper.

4. Other Critical Information

  • Unique Traits:
  • Alcatraz deliberately ignores files <7 MB that match common video/container sizes (.mp4, .mkv) – a psychological tactic to reduce user suspicion and security-case urgency.
  • Writes ransom-note ALCATRAZ_AID.TXT to every subfolder, contains an embedded TOR gateway link, but no crypto-email; chat is handled entirely through the TOR site (reduces LE takedown impact).
  • Uses an unpatched msep ransomware.exe filename similar to Windows Defender to fool admins during superficial inspection.
  • Broader Impact:
  • Initial private decryption price: 0.933 BTC (≈USD 62 000 at July 2024) – a price heavily targeted at manufacturings’ tight margins.
  • Sector-specific: Alcatraz crew maintains a Telegram channel leaking partial data (CAD drawings, payroll spreadsheets) if ransom not paid within 96 h, emphasizing the business-intel extortion angle.

Remember: Do not pay. Funding crime syndicates entrenches the ecosystem and does not guarantee full or legitimate decryptors. Focus on proven restore-from-backup procedures, secure configuration hardening, and ongoing user training.