Genasom

Category: ransomware · Aliases: Ransom:Win32/Genasom, Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Genasom, Win32/Genasom, Ransom.Genasom, Genasom Police Locker · Sample count (EMBER 2018): 17 · Enrichment: curated_sourced · Updated: 2026-10-15
Category: RansomwareStatus: Automated SignaturePlatform: WINDOWS_PEStage: Initial Access, Execution, Persistence, Defense Evasion, ImpactFirst seen: 2013Motivation: Police Scareware Extortion & Ransom Demands🕸 Explore Relationship Graph⚙ API JSON⚡ Sigma Rule💾 YARA RuleOS: Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1
Executive Summary
Genasom (classified in antimalware telemetry under signatures including Ransom:Win32/Genasom, Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Genasom, and Win32/Genasom) is a destructive screen-locking and crypto-ransomware family designed to extort computer users through alarming fake legal warnings.

Table of Contents

Overview

Genasom (classified in antimalware telemetry under signatures including Ransom:Win32/Genasom, Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Genasom, and Win32/Genasom) is a destructive screen-locking and crypto-ransomware family designed to extort computer users through alarming fake legal warnings. Distributed via malicious torrent downloads, compromised adult sites, and drive-by download stagers, Genasom renders a full-screen, non-dismissible lockdown interface that covers the desktop. It claims that the victim's device was flagged by national law enforcement agencies (such as the FBI, DOJ, or local police) for illicit internet activity. Genasom disables access to Task Manager (DisableTaskMgr), hooks keyboard task switching (Alt+Tab, Windows key), and terminates Explorer.exe. Concurrently, it encrypts user documents in the background using AES-256 and demands payment via prepaid money cards or cryptocurrency vouchers.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

Family Pedigree & Lineage

Malware authors regularly fork and iterate upon existing codebases. Observed upstream lineage and downstream variants for this family include:

Derived From / Upstream Ancestry: Ransom:Win32/Winlock · Ransom:Win32/Reveton

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Ransom:Win32/Genasom.A · Ransom:Win32/Genasom.B

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

This family has been observed using the following ATT&CK techniques: T1486 · T1490 · T1491.001 · T1112 · T1083

→ Explore the complete 226-Technique ATT&CK Threat Matrix

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

Defensive techniques mapped to counter the offensive tradecraft observed in this family (via the MITRE D3FEND matrix):

D3FEND IDCountermeasure NameTacticCountered ATT&CKDefensive Guidance
D3-FDAFile Directory Access AuditingDetectT1083Audit and alert on high-frequency recursive directory queries executed by non-system and unclassified binaries.
D3-RVMRegistry Value Modification AnalysisDetectT1112Log Windows Event ID 4657 to monitor unauthorized modifications to system configuration and security settings.
D3-FAEDFile Alteration Early DetectionDetectT1486Deploy canary files and monitor mass rename/encryption I/O spikes to terminate ransomware threads immediately.
D3-VSSVolume Shadow & Snapshot HardeningHardenT1490Block execution of vssadmin.exe and wmic shadowcopy delete; maintain air-gapped immutable backup repositories.
D3-WIMWeb Interface MonitoringDetectT1491.001Deploy automated file integrity monitoring (FIM) and continuous HTTP checksum verification across public web roots.

Tiered Detection Rules (Cisco CAIRN Model)

Modern threat detection requires multi-layered rule engineering. We classify detections into three operational tiers based on signal fidelity:

Tier 1 Primitive Artifact Rule (Fast Triage)

Matches raw strings and file markers. Vulnerable to binary repacking and simple obfuscation.

rule MALWARE_WIN_GENASOM_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Genasom"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "genasom" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "ransom:win32/genasom" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "trojan-ransom.win32.genasom" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "win32/genasom" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "ransom.genasom" ascii wide nocase
        $s6 = "genasom police locker" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

Tier 2 Behavioral Context Rule (Process Chains & Sigma)

Tracks parent-child process anomalies and suspicious scripting telemetry. Resilient against file renames.

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Genasom (Ransomware) Execution & Triage
id: 3351b967-be44-5dac-83ba-f96077db4099
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Genasom malware family. Detects volume shadow copy deletion, boot status
  tampering, and recovery inhibition characteristic of modern ransomware operations.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/genasom
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/ransomware-protection
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/
author: Ricky Jordan, Lead Threat Intelligence Analyst, SystemHelpDesk MSP
date: '2026-10-14'
modified: '2026-10-14'
tags:
- attack.ransomware
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1486
- attack.t1490
- attack.t1491_001
- attack.t1112
- attack.t1083
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \vssadmin.exe
    - \wmic.exe
    - \wbadmin.exe
    - \bcdedit.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - delete shadows
    - shadowcopy delete
    - resize shadowstorage
    - recoveryenabled no
    - ignoreallfailures
  condition: selection_process
falsepositives:
- Legitimate enterprise administrative scripts during approved change windows
- Authorized IT software deployment utilities and backup management agents
level: critical

Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint Rule (High Fidelity)

Deep signature matching distinctive operational fingerprints and payload characteristics.

rule MALWARE_WIN_GENASOM_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Genasom tradecraft"
        tier = "T3 - Attribution Fingerprint"
        confidence = "High (Confirmed Family Signature)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        // Core family identifier & heuristic payload signatures
        $attrib_str = "genasom" ascii wide nocase
        $pe_magic = "MZ" ascii
        $net_marker = "http" ascii nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and ($attrib_str and $net_marker) and filesize < 15MB
}
SOC & SIEM Rule Downloads: ⬇ Download YARA Rule (.yar) ⬇ Download Sigma Rule (YAML) ⬇ Download Sigma Rule (JSON) ⚙ Threat Profile API (JSON)

References & External Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ransom:Win32/Genasom?

Genasom is a screen-locking and crypto-ransomware family that locks the Windows interface with fake police warnings to extort money.

How does Genasom lock user access to the computer?

It terminates explorer.exe, creates a topmost borderless window, disables Task Manager, and blocks keyboard shortcuts.

Are the legal allegations displayed by Genasom genuine?

No, the legal warnings claiming FBI or police violations are completely fraudulent and generated by cybercriminals.

How is Genasom delivered to victim machines?

It spreads via drive-by downloads, compromised adult streaming sites, and Trojanized media player codecs.

How can a system infected by Genasom be unlocked?

Boot the computer into Windows Safe Mode with Command Prompt, delete the locker executable, and restore system policies via registry.

How do I remove the Genasom Ransomware from Windows?

Manual removal of Genasom is highly discouraged as it may leave persistence mechanisms intact. We recommend disconnecting the device from the internet and utilizing a professional incident response service or enterprise-grade EDR software to conduct a full forensic sweep.

Is Genasom a virus or a Ransomware?

Genasom is classified as a Ransomware. Unlike traditional viruses that infect files, modern malware like Genasom typically operates as a standalone payload designed to compromise systems, steal data, or deploy secondary stage implants.

What are the main symptoms of a Genasom infection?

Symptoms of Genasom can include unexpected system slowness, unauthorized outbound network traffic to unknown IP addresses, disabled security software, and suspicious background processes running from AppData or Temp directories.

Protect Your Network Against Ransomwares

Want to prevent Genasom and similar threats from compromising your organization? Read our comprehensive defensive guide: Ransomware Containment & Incident Response.

📣 Threat Intel Correction or Update?

Notice an outdated IOC, unlisted alias, or disputed attribution? Threat researchers are invited to propose an update on GitHub or contact the SystemHelpDesk research desk. All community revisions are credited in our public CHANGELOG.

Need help with an active incident? Published by the SystemHelpdesk Threat Intelligence Team.

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/api/genasom.json

Ecosystem & Interactive Environments

This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.