Geek's Advice

XCBG ransomware aims to lock your files and demand a ransom

XCBG ransomware is a malicious virus that infects computer systems and encrypts all files contained in them. This new variant belongs to the infamous STOP/DJVU ransomware group. After encrypting files (i.e., making them unreadable), the virus will also append .xcbg extension to the file names respectively. For example, a file that was saved as 1.jpg prior to the cyber-attack will be renamed 1.jpg.xcbg, 2.txt will be renamed to 2.txt.xcbg and so on. While the attack is still ongoing, the ransomware will also drop certain notes known as _readme.txt in all the folders. Contained within these _readme.txt notes are notifications sent by those behind the attack informing the victim about the development and why they should contact them in order to pay ransom in exchange for XCBG decryption tool.

They will emphasize that XCBG ransomware virus was able to encrypt all their files contained in the computer with the use of a very strong encryption key, thereby making them useless to the owner. As a way out, they will suggest that for the victim to recover their documents, pictures and every other important file that was encrypted, they would have to pay a certain amount of money as ransom to the cybercriminals who will in return, offer decryption solutions. To open a channel of communication between them, they will equally drop two email addresses, namely: support@sysmail.ch and supportsys@airmail.cc, which they expect the victim to address when attempting to contact the ransomware operators.

Meanwhile, decryption service prices will also be contained in the notification alongside the terms associated with it. They will state that paying as soon as possible has benefits. For instance, they will claim that the victim would be able to leverage their 50% discount policy if only payment would be made within 72 hours, i.e., 3 days of being notified. In other words, instead of paying $980 as a ransom fee, they will now be required to pay $480. However, once 3 days elapse without payment being made, only the full ransom fee would be acceptable to them.

However, if the victim decides to reach out to them, more conditions will be given by the cybercriminals. They will state categorically that payment can only be made by purchasing cryptocurrency that is worth a ransom fee and would be transferred to a wallet address they will forward to the victim. The most likely reason why they always insist on the use of cryptocurrency to receive ransom is to evade possible arrests by men of the law enforcement agencies who may come after them. Sometimes, the cybercriminals would ask the victim to send random excerpts of the encrypted files to them for test decryption. However, they will be quick to warn that such excerpt must not contain any information they could deem as important to the victim.

Regardless of the situation, cybersecurity experts from our company advise victims to always abide by the FBI’s guidelines pertaining to ransom payments which state that on no account should ransom be paid to cybercriminals. Various reasons have been put forward to back this rigid stance, but the major ones are listed below:

• You’re likely to lose huge sums of money and still not be able to retrieve your encrypted files.
• Paying money to cybercriminals will only encourage them to continue perpetrating more crimes since they would consider it profitable.
• In some countries, paying a ransom might be considered illegal, just like asking for it.

In addition to the virus, information-stealing Trojans like VIDAR and AZORULT are often dropped as well aimed at covertly stealing other sensitive details such as software login credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, banking details, passwords and browsing history etc. which they hope to use in perpetrating further criminal acts such as blackmailing and theft.

Victims of STOP/DJVU variants including this latest one are advised to remove the XCBG ransomware virus immediately they ascertain their computer has been infected. The best way to go about this is to boot your computer through Safe Mode with Networking option before running a genuine antivirus on it. It is important to make use of only genuine software, therefore if you’re not sure of which brand to use, we recommend you go for INTEGO Antivirus. You may also consider downloading RESTORO, which you can use in repairing possible damages inflicted by the virus on Windows OS files.

Ransomware Summary

REMOVE MALWARE & REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE

Ransomware distribution techniques used by cybercriminals

The most common way STOP/DJVU ransomware variants such as XCBG virus are spread is when computer users download software from malicious torrents. They would surreptitiously embed malware in pirated software contents that are popular and upload them in online torrents platforms and when unsuspecting users download them, they end up unwittingly infecting their computer with virus.

Therefore the so-called “cracks” and key generators are nothing but possible malware carriers. Reports have shown that certain pirated software contents are often used by the cybercriminals in luring their victims, as listed below in no particularly order:

• KMSPico (illegal Windows activation tool).
• Adobe Photoshop;
• Tenorshare 4ukey;
• AutoCad;
• Opera browser;
• Corel Draw;
• VMware Workstation;
• Cubase;
• Adobe Illustrator;
• League of Legends;
• Internet Download Manager;
• Fifa 20;
• Virtual DJ Pro.

Based on the explanations so far, you can see how dangerous it is to download software contents from torrents online, so if used to indulge in such acts, you should stop right now to avoid becoming a victim of ransomware. Moreover, downloading other people’s products illegally is considered copyright infringement and is punishable by law. Instead of getting involved in such unwholesome practices, it is better to encourage genuine software developers by obtaining their software contents through the right channels authorized by them. You will also have rest of mind since you won’t be at risk of cyber-attack.

Another method used by cybercriminals in spreading ransomware is through malicious email attachments. They often compose “real” looking messages and would attach certain types of crafted documents such as DOCX, PDF or XLS which they make use of because they enable Javascript and macro functions which can be leveraged to download and activate malware in random PC’s.

Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult in telling apart which email is genuine or a malware-carrier sent by cybercriminals. The reason is that in the desperation of cybercriminals to catch their victims unaware, they now compose their messages to appear very much like any other ordinary email.

Sometimes, they would front as someone who is close to the victim or even impersonate as corporate brands trying to reach out to their customer. Some of the brands they often impersonate include Amazon, eBay, DHL, FedEx etc. In addition to that, they would also make use of catchy captions such as Order Summary, Invoice or Tracking Details all in an attempt to deceive their target victim. On the other hand, they may even decide to make use of email spoofing techniques in hiding the actual sender’s address. Considering the risk, it is best not to open any email you’re not convinced of its origin/purpose.

Finally, for victims to STOP/DJVU ransomware, it will be in your best interest to avoid some notorious websites that claim to offer decryption solutions because such does not exist. At the moment, only DiskTuna and Emsisoft offer tools that are capable of decrypting files.

More information about the infection

This section discusses about the extent to which computer systems are affected during XCBG ransomware attack. The first thing the malware does is to set up build2.exe executables and also winupdate.exe which displays fake update screen. Once that is done, the virus will connect to https[:]//api.2ip.ua/geo.json and also send the result to geo.json file. It will then commence information gathering about geolocation-related data that will include the computer’s geolocation, time zone, zip code, as well as latitude and longitude. Shown below are two examples of how geo.json files look like.

After that, the virus will create another file that will contain information such as hardware details, installed software list, active processes. This file will be named as information.txt.

By making use of the computer’s country code, the virus will profile the computer’s geolocation against their list of encryption-exempted countries listed as Russian Federation, Syria, Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kazachstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. If peradventure the country code of the infected computer matches with any of the countries, it will instantly terminate any further attempt at attacking the computer.

However, if it scales through by not belonging to any of those countries, the ransomware would at this point extract online encryption key from their server and would merge it with the victim’s ID and will save it in bowsakkdestx.txt file and to PersonalID.txt file. Here is an example of how these files look like.
In situations where the ransomware fails to fetch an online encryption key, it will automatically opt for the use of a hardcoded offline key as an alternative. The appearance of t1 characters suffixed to the personal ID of the victim shows it’s an offline key, and it improves chances of possible decryption of .xcbg files going forward. More information about it is provided below this article.

The ransomware will now proceed to actual data encryption procedure by scanning every folder and encrypting each file with the Salsa20 algorithm before using the RSA-2048 key to lock the encryption. In addition to file encryption, the virus also appends new extension to original filename.

Presented below is screenshot of _readme.txt ransom note that the viruss drops in all folders during the attack.

In completing the attack, the malware will add certain domains to the Windows HOSTS file and also map them to the localhost IP, which effectively prevents the victim from getting any help online. Any attempt could bring up the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error message in web browser.

Remove XCBG Ransomware Virus and Recover Lost Files

For those whose were encrypted by the malware under review, it is best to remove the XCBG ransomware without any further delay and afterwards follow the steps outlined below.

Also remember to set up your computer in Safe Mode with Networking before using genuine antivirus software to ensure optimal results. If you’re unsure which software to use, our team recommends INTEGO Antivirus due to its effectiveness in protecting computers against malware attacks and detecting as well as removing existing threats.

As soon as XCBG ransomware virus removal is finished, it is time to take the following steps as outlined by our team:

• Immediately report to the relevant authorities with a mandate to oversee such issues.
• Make use of data backup to restore lost data.
• You may consider learning possible ways files corrupted by STOP/DJVU could be repaired.
• Change all passwords that were used for logging into your accounts on the compromised computer.

OUR GEEKS RECOMMEND

Our team recommends a two-step rescue plan to remove ransomware and other remaining malware from your computer, plus repair caused virus damage to the system:

STEP 1. REMOVE AUTOMATICALLY WITH ROBUST ANTIVIRUS

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Use INTEGO Antivirus to remove detected threats from your computer.

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STEP 2. REPAIR VIRUS DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER

DOWNLOAD RESTORO

RESTORO provides a free scan that helps to identify hardware, security and stability issues and presents a comprehensive report which can help you to locate and fix detected issues manually. It is a great PC repair software to use after you remove malware with professional antivirus. The full version of software will fix detected issues and repair virus damage caused to your Windows OS files automatically.

RESTORO uses AVIRA scanning engine to detect existing spyware and malware. If any are found, the software will eliminate them.

Read full review here.

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Norbert Webb

Norbert Webb is the head of Geek’s Advice team. He is the chief editor of the website who controls the quality of content published. The man also loves reading cybersecurity news, testing new software and sharing his insights on them. Norbert says that following his passion for information technology was one of the best decisions he has ever made. “I don’t feel like working while I’m doing something I love.” However, the geek has other interests, such as snowboarding and traveling.