elons_help.txt

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

Ransomware Spotlight ― Extension “.elons_recovery” (Elons-Help.txt campaign)

Technical Breakdown

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Confirmation of File Extension: The ransomware appends the literal string .elons_recovery to every encrypted file (e.g., Invoice.xlsx.elons_recovery).
  • Renaming Convention: Original name is preserved, only the extra 14-byte suffix is added, so length checks or simple “*.elons_recovery” filters will catch everything. No email address or victim-ID is inserted in the file name—those details are kept inside the ransom note only.

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • First public submissions: 08-June-2024 on ID-Ransomware & VirusTotal.
  • Peak distribution window: 09-14 June 2024, with the majority of infections clustering in North America and Western Europe.
  • Still active (less prolific) as of July 2024; no large-scale v2 has been observed yet.

3. Primary Attack Vectors

  1. Phishing with password-protected ZIP/ISO – e-mails themed “Tesla lay-off compensation” lure recipients to mount an ISO that contains a heavily obfuscated .NET loader (“CompHelper.exe”).
  2. Drive-by via Fake Browser Updates – watering-hole sites serving NetSupport-derived dropper that pulls the final 64-bit DLL (helper64.dll, ~450 kB, compiled in Rust).
  3. RDP brute-force / credential stuffing – reconnaissance shows successful logins from IPs in ASNs attributed to “bullet-proof” hosts; lateral movement via SMB + PsExec.
  4. Exploitation of un-patched MS-SQL servers (CVE-2020-1473 & weak sa passwords) to drop sqlrunner.exe which writes the same payload.

Once inside, the EXE/DLL kills SQL, Exchange, VSS, Sophos, Defender, EDR processes, deletes shadow copies with vssadmin delete shadows /all, disables Windows recovery options via bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No, then proceeds to ChaCha20 + RSA-2040 encryption.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention

  • Patch everything externally facing (MS-SQL, AD, Citrix, VPN appliances).
  • Disable or restrict RDP; enforce NLA, 2FA, strong password policy plus GPO-based account lock-out.
  • Mail-gateway rules: strip password-protected ZIP/ISO or delay quarantine for manual release.
  • Local administrator rights: remove from daily-use accounts; enable LSA Protection (RunAsPPL) to block LSASS dumps.
  • Application whitelisting / WDAC: block unsigned binaries in %TEMP%, %PUBLIC%, C:\PerfLogs.
  • Back-ups that are either immutable (object-lock) or offline (disk/tape rotated off-site) and that have been test-restored within the last 30 days.

2. Removal (Step-by-Step)

  1. Physically disconnect the machine from network (both Ethernet & Wi-Fi).
  2. Boot into Safe Mode with Networking or better—boot from a known-clean Windows PE / Linux live-stick if malware is suspected of patching kernel.
  3. Identify the running sample (look for unsigned helper64.dll or randomly-named 12-character EXE in %ALLUSERSPROFILE%).
  4. Terminate the malicious process, then delete the file and its persistence key (usually under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run).
  5. Run an on-demand engine that already detects this variant (Sophos, Trellix, SentinelOne, Defender with latest 1.405.x signatures).
  6. Clear Event logs and restore legitimate services if the malware disabled them.
  7. Only after threat removal attempt file restoration; do NOT plug the drive into another Windows box live if encrypted files are all that remain.

3. File Decryption & Recovery

  • There is currently no free decryptor. The malware generates a unique ChaCha20 key per file, then RSA-2040-encrypts that key with an attacker-controlled public key. Private key never touches the victim PC.
  • Paid tool advertised on Tor (0.036 BTC, approx. US $1050) is the threat-group’s own “Elons Decryptor.” Dozens of reports confirm it does work if the affiliate is still responsive, but the risk of losing money with no key is high.
  • Recovery path therefore relies solely on:
    – Offline/cloud backups
    – Windows shadow copies (unlikely—they are deleted)
    – Volume/file level snapshots from NAS/SAN (check for immutable snapshots)
    – Reconstructing from e-mail attachments, source-control repos, or 3rd-party SaaS exports
    – File-carving utilities (PhotoRec, R-Studio) only for data that resided in “slack” space before encryption—success rate < 5%

4. Other Critical Information

  • Network-level speed limit: the Rust binary is configured to encrypt only the first 512 kB of non-system files larger than 50 MB to finish faster; this sometimes allows partial recovery of certain archive or video formats that store their index at the end.
  • No double-extortion leak site observed so far; the group claims “We only want money—don’t send to journalists” in the note—this could change in v2.
  • Cross-platform? Windows only at present; no ESXI, Linux or macOS samples submitted.
  • Unique mutex used to prevent re-infection of already-encrypted hosts: Global\ElonsMars2024 – good IOC for EDR hunting queries.
  • Broader Impact: Small–medium manufacturers, county-level governments and one US K-12 district hit hardest. Average dwell time until ransom note 3–5 h; average ransom demand $600 k (negotiated down to 25 % range). Business-interruption costs (downtime, overtime labor, lost sales) have exceeded the ransom ask in every public incident to date.

Key IOCs (share liberally)

  • File hashes (SHA-256):
    – 876db8e4…a1204f4c (dropper)
    – aa4ba923…98ce11ee (helper64.dll)
  • Tor payment page: hxxp://elonsrecoveryqpkv4xm…onion
  • Ransom note filename: elons_help.txt (dropped in every folder + Desktop).
  • Mutex: Global\ElonsMars2024
  • Dropped kill-script: C:\Users\Public\killvss.bat

Stay vigilant, keep backups disconnected, and patch early—elons_recovery is preventable, but once files are encrypted without backups, the only practical “cure” is restoration, not decryption.