Rhysida Ransomware Cracked & Decrypted
Ransomware is malicious software that is a prominent global cyber security threat. Typically, ransomware encrypts data on a system, rendering the victim unable to decrypt it without the attacker’s private key. Now, Cyber security experts have discovered a vulnerability in Rhysida ransomware that lets them rebuild encryption keys and unscramble documents ciphered by the infamous ransomware.
Security researchers from South Korean Kookmin University, have identified a vulnerability in the infamous ransomware which provides a way for encrypted files to be unscrambled.
Rhysida which is known to share overlaps with another ransomware crew called Vice Society, leverages a tactic known as double extortion to apply pressure on victims into paying up by threatening to release their stolen data. Once on a victim's Windows PC, Rhysida malware locates the documents it wishes to scramble, compiles them into a list, and fires up some simultaneous threads to perform that encryption.
The researchers have described how they exploited an implementation flaw in Rhysida’s code to regenerate its encryption key.
"Rhysida ransomware employed a secure random number generator to generate the encryption key and subsequently encrypt the data... However, an implementation vulnerability existed that enabled us to regenerate the internal state of the random number generator at the time of infection... We successfully decrypted the data using the regenerated random number generator. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first successful decryption of Rhysida ransomware."
As a consequence of this work, a Rhysida ransomware recovery tool has been developed and is being distributed to the general public through the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA). English language instructions for using the decryption tool have also been made available.
The Rhysida decryptor is just the latest in a line of ransomware recovery tools that have appeared in recent years, but there is a problem. Knowledge of the the researchers' publication of their findings and the availability of a ransomware recovery tool will alert the hackers who developed Rhysida about the vulnerability and motivate them to fix it.
Ransomware researchers have a dilemma - if they find a flaw in a ransomware that allows them to decrypt victims' data, they have to consider carefully the consequence of making it more widely known, as announcing the method for recovery and providing a tool will only help the hackers to respond.
KISA: Arxix: BitDefender: Hacker News: The Register: Tripwire:
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