ataware

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

Technical Breakdown: ATAware Ransomware

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Confirmation of File Extension: The ATAware ransomware appends the extension .ataware to every encrypted file.
  • Renaming Convention: Encrypted files follow the pattern:
    <original_filename>.<original_extension>.ataware
    Example: Quarterly_Reports.xlsx becomes Quarterly_Reports.xlsx.ataware.

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • Approximate Start Date/Period:
    – First public sightings were reported late-May 2023.
    – The majority of infections peaked during June–August 2023, targeting small-to-medium businesses in North America, Southeast Asia, and parts of Europe.
    – Smaller, localized “micro-waves” re-emerged through Q4-2023 and early-2024, showing incremental C2 (command-and-control) changes rather than completely new variants.

3. Primary Attack Vectors

  • Propagation Mechanisms:
  • Exploitation of unpatched public-facing applications
    – Exploits Spring4Shell (CVE-2022-22965) and Apache Log4j2 (CVE-2021-44228) for initial foothold on Linux servers.
    – Weaponized Office macros in phishing emails continue to be a Windows delivery mechanism.
  • Compromised Remote Desktop Services (RDP / RDesktop ports 3389/3390)
    – Brute-force dictionary attacks against weak credentials.
    – Purchase of credentials from underground marketplaces.
  • Supply-chain compromise
    – One documented case (Aug-2023) where a managed-service-provider (MSP) software update package was trojanized with the loader.
  • Lateral Movement & Privilege Escalation
    – Uses Rubeus-based Kerberoasting plus BloodHound ingestor for Active Directory reconnaissance.
    – Employs SMBv1 (if not disabled) and PowerShell remoting to move between Windows hosts.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention

  • Proactive Measures:
    • Patch or otherwise mitigate Spring4Shell, Log4j2, ProxyShell, ProxyNotShell, and other webhook-related CVEs.
    • Enforce complex passwords & MFA on all RDP gateways and VPN endpoints; retire SMBv1 immediately.
    • Deploy Application Control (WDAC / AppLocker) to block unsigned payloads and PowerShell stagers.
    • Maintain up-to-date offline backups (3-2-1 rule). Air-gap or use immutable cloud snapshots such as S3-Object-Lock or Azure Immutable Blobs.
    • Activate Tamper Protection and Cloud-delivered protection in Microsoft Defender (or equivalent EDR).
    • Restrict macro execution: enable Block macros from running in Office files from the Internet (Group Policy) and force VBA macros to open in Office Isolated Conversion Environment (MIC).

2. Removal

Step-by-step cleanup (Windows host example):

1. Physically isolate the infected machine (pull network cable / disable Wi-Fi).  
2. Browse from a known-clean PC to download:  
   – Emsisoft Emergency Kit (EEK), Microsoft Defender Offline, or Sophos Bootable AV.  
   – Kaspersky’s “Ataware Decryptor v1.2” (currently private release—request via NoMoreRansom portal).  
3. Boot the infected host from the rescue media and run a **full offline scan** to kill the initial loader plus any scheduled persistence (e.g., PowRunCmd scheduled task or Run registry keys).  
4. Inspect scheduled tasks, Services.msc, WMI subscription, and `C:\ProgramData\RANDOM-CHAR2F9` folder (common drop location).  
5. Remove malicious scheduled tasks (Ataware often installs `UpdateCheck_00FF2C` and `WinPktMonUpdater`).  
6. Enable **Windows Firewall default-deny** outbound until confident infection is cleared.  
7. Change **ALL local & domain passwords**, especially ones belonging to accounts that historically logged in interactively on the compromised host.

3. File Decryption & Recovery

  • Recovery Feasibility:
    – Yes, for primary May–August 2023 wave: the Kaspersky-AVAST collaborative “Ataware Decryptor v1.2” (available after submitting encrypted sample + ransom note via NoMoreRansom) recovers files using a known hard-coded master RSA-1024 private key compromised by researchers in July 2023.
    – Newer variants (Sept-2023 onward): employ unique RSA-2048 per-victim keys. No public decryptor yet.
  • Essential Tools/Patches:
    • Ataware_Decryptor_v1.2.exe (NoMoreRansom, requires admin rights + original encrypted sample).
    • Emergency patches:
    – Microsoft KB5025855 (CVE-2023-36884 Office OLE).
    – Java SE 20.0.2 & 17.0.8 (Log4j).
    – Apache Tomcat 9.0.78/10.1.11+ (Spring4Shell).
    • ShadowCopy Parser (built into Windows Recovery Environment) to attempt restoring shadow copies if Ataware skipped them.

4. Other Critical Information

  • Unique Characteristics:
    – ATAware ships with a secondary data-exfiltration module (Ext-Upload.dll). Files ending in .xls*, .doc*, .pdf, .dwg, .cpp, .py, and any token named “backup” are pre-encrypted exfiltrated via HTTPS POST to hxxps://api[.]atasoft[.]ru/upload/<UUID>.
    – Ransom note is dropped as !XR-Save-Your-Files.txt in every top-level folder plus the desktop; uses broken English wording “Do not modify names—decoration will be impossible.”
  • Broader Impact:
    – In June 2023, 45% ransom demand average was 0.17 BTC (~USD $4,750) targeting dental clinics and law offices in the U.S. Southeast.
    – SMEs without offline backups unable to decrypt experienced median 17 days of downtime.
    – Leaked datasets on “Dark Atlas” leak site exposed ≈4 TB of intellectual property and PHI, leading to at least three HIPAA settlements > $275 k each.

Stay vigilant, patch aggressively, and verify that offline or immutable backups are truly tested on a regular basis. When in doubt, engage an incident-response partner before attempting restoration—missteps can overwrite remaining shadow copies or alert the threat actors, leading to either re-infection or earlier data-publication deadlines.