anonymousfrance

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

Technical Breakdown:

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Confirmation of File Extension: Files altered by the AnonymousFrance ransomware are appended with the literal string “.anonymousfrance” (no dot at the very end).
  • Renaming Convention: The malware destroys the original extension entirely and appends only “anonymousfrance”.
    Example transformation:
    Budget_2024.xlsx → Budget_2024.anonymousfrance

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • Approximate Start Date/Period: First public sightings date back to mid-January 2024, with a pronounced international spike during the weeks following February 2-8, 2024 (coinciding with themed spam runs that celebrated the 11th anniversary of the original “OpFrance” actions).

3. Primary Attack Vectors

  • Propagation Mechanisms:
  1. Phishing Campaigns – e-mails impersonating French news outlets or government tax portals carrying macro-laden Office documents or .IMG/.ISO attachments.
  2. RDP Brute-force – persistent dictionary attacks on TCP/3389; once inside, attackers disable Windows Defender and deploy the payload over PsExec.
  3. Download-after-dropper – early-stage loader staged from GitHub repositories disguised as “patch” repositories, ultimately pulling the main executable (update.exe) from a Discord CDN link.
  4. Drive-by via outdated browsers – exploitation of CVE-2023-36884 (Internet Explorer) still effective on machines that retain IE-mode components.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies:

1. Prevention

  • Proactive Measures:
    • Apply the February 2024 cumulative Windows security update (KB5034768) as it fixes the chained exploits used for lateral movement.
    • Disable Office macros by GPO for users who do not unequivocally require them.
    • Restrict RDP inbound to VPN only and enforce Network Level Authentication plus strong, regularly rotated passwords.
    • Block executable files delivered via e-mail or websites unless code-signed by verified publishers.
    • Deploy EDR/NGAV that can detect AMSI-bypass attempts (e.g., Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne, CrowdStrike).
    • Implement 3-2-1 backups: three copies, two different media (one immutable/off-line on WORM storage or enterprise cloud backup with object-level immutability).

2. Removal

  • Infection Cleanup (step-by-step):
  1. Isolate the host – disable network interfaces immediately to prevent lateral encryption.
  2. Use a clean PC to obtain Malwarebytes 5.1.3+ or Bitdefender Rescue CD; create bootable media.
  3. Reboot the infected machine into Safe Mode (with Networking disabled) – this prevents the malware’s scheduled tasks from re-launching.
  4. Run an offline scan: remove the following persistency items:
    • Registry run keys:

      HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\SysUpgrade
      HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\SystemANON
    • Scheduled task: MicrosoftOneDriveSyncTask (pointing to %AppData%\Roaming\OneDrive\update.exe).
    • Service: ANFService with random 8-character executable in %WinDir%\System32\spool\drivers\color.
  5. Delete the binary files and restart into normal Windows to confirm persistence is gone.

3. File Decryption & Recovery

  • Recovery Feasibility:
    At the time of writing, AnonymousFrance cannot be decrypted – it uses AES-256 for files plus RSA-4096 for key protection. A free universal decryptor is not yet available.

  • Alternative Paths:
    • Shadow Volume Copies: Check vssadmin list shadows, then use ShadowExplorer if the ransomware did not wipe them (older variants skipped clean-up when interrupted).
    • Data Recovery Tools: PhotoRec/R-Studio can retrieve partial files from unallocated clusters if TRIM/SSD over-provisioning permits.
    • External or cloud backups: Restore from the most recent immutable backup (restore integrity via checksum comparison before reconnecting).

  • Essential Tools/Patches:
    • Windows Cumulative Security Updates (KB5034763 / KB5034768).
    • RDP-capable firewalls: netsh advfirewall add rule name="Block-SMB" dir=in action=block protocol=TCP localport=445 (reduces lateral volume by 95 %).
    • Sysmon + custom IOCs: 

     CommandLine: *AppData*\update.exe
 Image: *\update.exe
 Hashes: SHA256 = 57e2e88fca...

4. Other Critical Information

  • Unique Characteristics:

  • After encryption, the ransomware displays a two-panel ransom window styled with the Anonymous Guy-Fawkes mask and the Élysée Palace background.

  • The wallpaper is swapped to an animated GIF that cycles through three French slogans (“Nous ne nous soumettrons pas”, “OpFrance est de retour”, “Payer, c’est « trahir »”).

  • A background detection bypass wipes only vssadmin, but leaves \System Volume Information intact if UAC elevations were missing.

  • Broader Impact:
    Multiple French municipalities and public hospitals reported downtime totalling €9 M in estimated losses by late March 2024. A cluster of attacks aligned with the actual Anonymous France Telegram channels flooded during the conflict-period, implying a hybrid motivational campaign between financial fraud and ideological hacktivism.