foqe

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

Ransomware Resource Sheet

Variant in focus: “foqe” (STOP/Djvu family)

Technical Breakdown

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Exact extension appended: .foqe
  • Renaming convention:
    Original name → picture.jpg.foqe, report.xlsx.foqe, database.sql.foqe
    No e-mail, no UID, no prefix—just the original filename + “.foqe”.

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • First submitted to ID-Ransomware / VirusTotal: late-March 2023
  • Peak infection window: April–June 2023 (still circulating through cracked-software and key-gen bundles).

3. Primary Attack Vectors

  • Pirated software bundles & “free” activators (most common) – victim installs a supposed Photoshop, Cubase, AutoCAD crack; sideloads the payload.
  • Key-gen / patcher sites – malicious JavaScript forces fake CAPTCHA that downloads the installer.
  • Secondary loader via SmokeLoader / ZLoader – delivered from other already-compromised hosts.
  • No worm-like SMB/EternalBlue component; infection requires user execution.
  • Uses living-off-the-land to disable Windows Defender (cmd /c powershell -ep bypass “Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true”) right before file encryption.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention

  • Block execution from %Temp%*.exe & %AppData%*.exe via GPO / Application-Control (WDAC/AppLocker).
  • Disable Office macro execution if not business-critical; STOP is rarely spread by Office but macros are used by follow-up loaders.
  • Keep Windows, browsers, 7-Zip, WinRAR fully patched – some Djvu chains abuse old ZIP/RAR ACE extraction bugs.
  • Deploy reputation-based web filtering to block “warez” and crack domains; 90 % of foqe infections begin here.
  • Restrict local admin rights – the ransomware only encrypts what the running user can touch; least-privilege halves the damage.
  • Segment LAN + disable RDP if unused; although not the main vector, intruders occasionally couple Djvu with brute-forced RDP for double-extortion.

2. Removal (step-by-step)

  1. Physically disconnect or disable Wi-Fi to halt further encryption or data exfiltration.
  2. Boot into Safe Mode with Networking.
  3. Use a second machine or bootable AV disk:
  • Delete the persistent copy (usually %LocalAppData%\[random]\[random].exe).
  • Delete the run key (HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run).
  1. Run a reputable AV/AM engine (Microsoft Defender, Malwarebytes, Kaspersky, Sophos) – all detect this as Ransom:Win32/StopCrypt.
  2. Clear Windows Temp & browser cache to remove remaining downloaders.
  3. Patch everything before returning to normal mode so re-infection doesn’t occur via the same crack installer.

3. File Decryption & Recovery

  • OFFLINE (victim-ID ends in “t1”):
    The master key is embedded → DECRYPTABLE with Emsisoft’s free STOP/Djvu Decryptor (updated July-2023, covers foqe).
  • ONLINE (victim-ID is 36 random alphanumeric chars with no “t1”):
    Unique key generated on the criminal server → NOT decryptable without paying, although paying is discouraged (no guarantee, funds criminal ecosystem).
  • Check ID: open C:\SystemID\PersonalID.txt or C:\_readme.txt → last two chars tell you offline/online.
  • Recovery options if online:
  • Restore from version-aware backups (Veeam, Windows Server Backup, Shadow copies – many Djvu variants now wipe VSS, but check anyway).
  • Search for unencrypted copies in e-mail, cloud sync folders that support file-versioning (OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box).
  • Run file-carving tools (PhotoRec, R-Studio) on external forensics copy – small files sometimes remain in NTFS slack.

4. Other Critical Information

  • Differentiator from generic ransomware:
    – Bundles the Azorult password stealer, so assume credentials, cookies, crypto-wallets are compromised → force a network-wide password reset.
    – Drops readme.txt ransom note offering 50 % discount if contacted within 72 h; e-mails change frequently, latest seen: [email protected], [email protected].
  • Broader impact:
    – Very high incident count because it rides the supply-chain of casual software piracy; home users & SMBs disproportionally affected.
    – Even if files are decrypted, stolen data may be sold or leaked; treat as data-breach unless you can forensically prove Azorult did not execute or exfiltrate.
    – Free decryptor availability (offline cases) has reduced the criminal revenue stream, but threat actors compensate by coupling info-stealers and pushing second-wave infections.

Key Take-away

If your ID ends in “t1”, run the Emsisoft decryptor immediately—**foqe is beaten.**
If your ID is random, revert to clean backups and treat the environment as both ransomware-hit AND credential-compromised.