silversurfer
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- Aug 17, 2014
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The operators of Nemty ransomware have found a new distributor for their file-encrypting malware, which now spreads via Trik, a botnet that pushes all sorts of threats.
The malware is spread to systems that have the Server Message Block (SMB) network communication protocol exposed on the web and protected by weak credentials.
Trik Botnet has been seen distributing sextortion emails not too long ago but a recent update added a SMB component and hardcoded credentials. The payload distributed this way is Nemty ransomware, note in a report today security researchers from Symantec.
The component first searches in the compromised system's %AppData% directory for the presence of the file 'winsvcs.txt,' which indicates if Nemty is downloaded and executed.
On machines that have the file, the SMB component checks if it runs as a service and then tries to spread through the SMB protocol, the researchers explain.