Tuesday , April 1 2025
key

Bitdefender releases free decryptor for ShrinkLocker ransomware

Bitdefender has released a decryptor for the ShrinkLocker ransomware after months of concern from responders regarding attacks involving this malware. Bitdefender released a detailed blog explaining how a ransomware strain utilizes Microsoft’s BitLocker to encrypt files and removes recovery options.

“ShrinkLocker is a novel ransomware strain that leverages a unique approach to encrypt systems. By exploiting BitLocker, a legitimate Windows feature, it can rapidly encrypt entire drives, including system drives,” the company explained.

CVE-2025-1268
Patch urgently! Canon Fixes Critical Printer Driver Flaw

Canon has announced a critical security vulnerability, CVE-2025-1268, in printer drivers for its production printers, multifunction printers, and laser printers....
Read More
CVE-2025-1268  Patch urgently! Canon Fixes Critical Printer Driver Flaw

Within Minute, RamiGPT To Escalate Privilege Gaining Root Access

RamiGPT is an AI security tool that targets root accounts. Using PwnTools and OpwnAI, it quickly navigated privilege escalation scenarios...
Read More
Within Minute, RamiGPT To Escalate Privilege Gaining Root Access

Australian fintech database exposed in 27000 records

Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler recently revealed a sensitive data exposure involving the Australian fintech company Vroom by YouX, previously known...
Read More
Australian fintech database exposed in 27000 records

Over 200 Million Info Leaked Online Allegedly Belonging to X

Safety Detectives' Cybersecurity Team found a forum post where a threat actor shared a .CSV file with over 200 million...
Read More
Over 200 Million Info Leaked Online Allegedly Belonging to X

FBI investigating cyberattack at Oracle, Bloomberg News reports

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is probing the cyberattack at Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab that has led to...
Read More
FBI investigating cyberattack at Oracle, Bloomberg News reports

OpenAI Offering $100K Bounties for Critical Vulns

OpenAI has increased its maximum bug bounty payout to $100,000, up from $20,000, to encourage the discovery of critical vulnerabilities...
Read More
OpenAI Offering $100K Bounties for Critical Vulns

Splunk Alert User RCE and Data Leak Vulns

Splunk has released a security advisory about critical vulnerabilities in Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform. These issues could lead...
Read More
Splunk Alert User RCE and Data Leak Vulns

CIRT alert Situational Awareness for Eid Holidays

As the Eid holidays near, cybercriminals may try to take advantage of weakened security during this time. The CTI unit...
Read More
CIRT alert Situational Awareness for Eid Holidays

Cyberattack on Malaysian airports: PM rejected $10 million ransom

Operations at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) were unaffected by a cyber attack in which hackers demanded US$10 million (S$13.4...
Read More
Cyberattack on Malaysian airports: PM rejected $10 million ransom

Micropatches released for Windows zero-day leaking NTLM hashes

Unofficial patches are available for a new Windows zero-day vulnerability that allows remote attackers to steal NTLM credentials by deceiving...
Read More
Micropatches released for Windows zero-day leaking NTLM hashes

The company started by investigating an incident where attackers targeted an unmanaged device in a Middle Eastern healthcare company and later spread within the system to deploy ShrinkLocker.

A new ransomware strain appeared earlier this year, attracting attention from researchers. Kaspersky reported its emergence in May, noting it targeted organizations in Mexico, Indonesia, and Jordan, impacting sectors like steel, vaccine manufacturing, and a government entity.

“Unlike most modern ransomware, which relies on sophisticated encryption algorithms, ShrinkLocker takes a simpler, more unconventional approach,” Bitdefender said.

“It first checks if BitLocker is enabled and, if not, installs it. Then, it re-encrypts the system using a randomly generated password.” After rebooting, the user must enter a password to unlock the drive, which then shows the attacker’s contact information and instructions to pay a ransom for the decryption key.

Bitdefender reports that ransomware can encrypt several systems in just 10 minutes per device.

The tool’s simplicity has drawn lower-level cybercriminals who prefer not to engage in larger ransomware operations. Researchers noted that it is easy to use and modify ShrinkLocker, allowing more attackers to access it.

“Our analysis shows that ShrinkLocker malware is being adapted by multiple individual threat actors for simpler attacks, rather than being distributed through a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model,” they said.

The ransomware targets older systems, specifically Windows 7, 8, and Windows Server 2008 and 2012.

In May, Kaspersky’s Cristian Souza stated in a press release that BitLocker was initially created to reduce the risks of data theft or exposure. Two years ago, Microsoft reported that an Iranian state-sponsored group exploited the BitLocker feature in cyberattacks, a method also used by other cybercriminals.

“It’s a cruel irony that a security measure has been weaponized in this way,” Souza said. In the past two years, Bitdefender has released decryptors for three ransomware strains: LockerGoga, MortalKombat, and MegaCortex.

Check Also

Singapore

Singapore issues new guidelines for data center and cloud services

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA of Singapore unveils advisory guidelines to reduce occurrences of …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *