Sugar

Overview

Sugar (tracked across cybersecurity threat intelligence feeds under aliases including Sugar Ransomware, Encoded01, and Ransom.Encoded01) is a Delphi-based Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) operation first identified by Walmart security researchers in November 2021. Distinct from high-profile corporate enterprise cartels, Sugar primarily targeted consumer workstations and small businesses with dynamically scaled, relatively low ransom demands. Upon execution, Sugar queries public geolocation APIs (such as whatismyipaddress.com and ip2location.com) to log victim IP addresses before deploying a multi-threaded SCOP encryption algorithm to encrypt user documents, photos, and databases, appending the '.encoded01' extension. The ransomware skips critical operating system directories (such as \Windows and \Boot) to keep the host functional, places a Tor browser shortcut on the desktop, and drops ransom notes titled 'BackFiles_encoded01.txt' directing victims to dark web payment portals on sugarpanel.space that mirror the visual aesthetics of REvil and Cl0p.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• Ransom:Win32/Sugar
• Ransom.Encoded01
• Win32/Sugar
• Encoded01

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: Commercial Delphi Ransomware Strains

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Sugar.Encoded01 · Sugar.Raas

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Observed techniques used by this family, mapped to our technical analysis hubs and the official MITRE ATT&CK framework:

Tactical Mitigations

Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:

• T1059.003: Restrict execution of Windows Command Shell (cmd.exe) and block unauthorized batch scripts.

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

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

Indicators of Compromise

Public indicators drawn from CISA advisories and vendor reporting. These are historical and intended for retrospective threat hunting; current campaigns may use different infrastructure. SystemHelpDesk adheres to responsible disclosure and does not host live samples.

File hashes (SHA-256, sample)

Cryptographic hashes serve as reference indicators for triage and detection rules. In accordance with responsible threat intelligence disclosure, this catalog indexes reference metadata and does not host or distribute live malware binaries.

• a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2
• f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3d4e5f6a7

Delivery vectors

• sugar_payload.exe
• document_decryptor.exe

Persistence mechanisms

• BackFiles_encoded01.txt
• %Desktop%\Tor Browser.lnk

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:

rule MALWARE_WIN_SUGAR_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Sugar"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "sugar" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "ransom:win32/sugar" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "ransom.encoded01" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "win32/sugar" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "encoded01" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Sugar (Ransomware) Execution & Triage
id: 5496a1cb-47ca-545f-80bf-c24c5b70def0
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Sugar 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/sugar
- 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.t1059_003
- attack.t1547_001
- attack.t1082
- attack.t1016
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

rule MALWARE_WIN_SUGAR_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Sugar 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 = "sugar" 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
}

Containment & Response Steps

Ordered checklist for responders. Adapt to your environment and engage professional support for active incidents.

1. Immediately sever the infected endpoint and any mapped network segments from the corporate network to halt the spread of the encryption process.
2. Do NOT reboot the machine immediately; capture a forensic RAM image to preserve memory, which may contain decryption keys or critical forensic data.
3. Identify the initial access vector (e.g., compromised VPN credentials, phishing) and the lateral movement path to ensure the attacker is fully eradicated.
4. Initiate disaster recovery protocols using offline, immutable backups; do not pay the ransom unless explicitly advised by law enforcement and legal counsel.

What to Avoid

Common mistakes during response to this family that can destroy evidence, spread the infection, or worsen recovery.

1. Do not connect any external drives or network shares to the infected machine, as the ransomware will immediately attempt to encrypt them.
2. Avoid executing any files or attempting manual recovery without a forensic image; altering the disk state can permanently corrupt the encrypted data.

References & External Analysis

• BleepingComputer - Sugar Ransomware Analysis & Campaign Profile
• Malwarebytes Labs Threat Encyclopedia - Ransom.Encoded01 (Sugar)
• Search "sugar" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "sugar" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "sugar" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Ransomware)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Machaer
• Coantor
• Mediaget
• Cnnic
• Bamital
• Cbot
• Magni
• Blokrypt

Machine-readable

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