Ransomware Tracker (Entry #222): Mike Tyson

Entry: https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-security-hub/ransomware-tracker/hakuna-matata

Hakuna Matata is a Swahili phrase meaning "there are no worries" (Hakuna = there are no; Matata = worries). It's popularized by the Disney movie The Lion King, performed by Timon and Pumbaa. However, native speakers of Swahili in countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and other neighboring countries seldom use this phrase in everyday conversation. It's more or less reserved for tourists because of The Lion King. In this context, Hakuna Matata is a ransomware builder that produces encryptors with AES-256-CBC and RSA-2048. The builder allows users to create a custom ransom note file name (default = Readme.txt) and message, a name for the process that performs the encryption (default = rundll32.exe), select file extensions, and options to alter the desktop wallpaper for extortion instructions. Additional options are shown in the ransom note image below, which isn't a ransom note image but an image of the builder as a user would see it.

The builder first appeared on the HellOfHackers forum from a user named Hakuna1 on July 7, 2023. Additionally, a user named CmdShell is selling the software for $150 on the underground market, GothamCity. We are uncertain if these are the same users because the CmdShell user created their account in May 2024, almost a year after the builder was publicized. Another user named HeightCoder released the source code on October 5, 2024 (see references) on GitHub, furthering evidence that the CmdShell could be another individual with access to the source code instead of the original author. This user also indicates that this builder is an iteration of Chaos/Yashma, which seems probable considering the similar appearances and behaviors of the encryptors from each of these builders.

All in all, the source code is in the public domain, and users who fall victim to ransomware derived from this builder will undoubtedly have worries. Unlike Chaos 3.0, Chaos 4.0, Yashma, and some variants, Hakuna Matata encryptors have no known decryptor.

Entry: https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-security-hub/ransomware-tracker/bagli

Bagli is commonly called Bagli Wiper because it doesn't actually encrypt files; it overrides the file's bytes with the Random() function (.NET). Therefore, it's technically not ransomware; it's pseudo-ransomware as a wiper. Although a ransom note—oxu.txt—is dropped that demands a ransom of $350 in Bitcoin, there is no possible way to recover files. The ransom note is in Azerbaijani, and the wiper's creator, ryukRans, spoke primarily Russian on XSS.is (a hacking forum). Therefore, we denoted the user as Azerbaijani with low-to-moderate confidence.

All in all, Bagli isn't a sophisticated or unique wiper. It's most known for being the foundation and beginning ancestry of another popular ransomware builder, Chaos. Due to the builder's open-source nature, Chaos has hundreds of variants. Thankfully, later versions of Chaos have decryptors for most of its creations. The only exceptions are versions 1.0 and 2.0, which are built upon the wiper aspect of Bagli.

Entry: https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-security-hub/ransomware-tracker/azzasec

AzzaSec (AzzaSecurity) is both the name of the ransomware and of an Italian hacktivist group. That is based on research from Threatmon, which wrote an extensive report on this ransomware and its members. The other two members are Turkish (WalterBishop_AzzaSec) and Brazilian (DmitryRansom). However, the leader—madoneputain/Friendied—is Italian. The group was first observed in late February 2024 and disbanded in August of the same year. During this time, they created ransomware with the same name as their group, but one of the samples we analyzed also went by AnonCry. Hence, the Alias of AnonCry. This name is interesting because it is seemingly meaningless, but after we analyzed other ransomware with similar characteristics, we discovered that the group likely had earlier testing ransomware iterations called BlackSkull, GhosHacker, and Anonymous, all of which are based on the NoCry ransomware builder. The primary piece of evidence of this is from the Anonymous variant that contained a debug string directly linked to NoCry. The Anonymous variant also contained AzzaSec strings. Seeing as these are all identical and there are string references, and because these were all created within the timeframe of the group's existence, we have moderately high confidence these all are related to AzzaSec. Also, the name AnonCry (Anonymous+NoCry) is another piece of evidence. Based on this evidence, we believe the public research indicating AzzaSec is based on HiddenTear to be incorrect.

The AzzaSec group worked on a RaaS model that allowed users to purchase the encryptor as a flat fee or subscription service. This comes from a post on CrackingX by a member of AzzaSec. However, they didn't indicate if there was some revenue split or if they simply sold the ransomware encryptor. It's likely the latter. As for the ransomware encryptor, it appended both .AzzaSec and .AzzaSec_Encryptor based on the sample (all but one used .AzzaSec) and encrypted files with AES combined with SHA-512. Similar to the other ransomware mentioned in this description, the extortion amounts were all less than $100, and the maximum amount in the samples we found was $600, a far cry from other major ransomware groups. However, this isn't a surprise, considering the group's motives were hacktivism. They also were aligned with pro-Russian groups such as APT44 and Noname057(16), which commonly use DDoS attacks.