{
  "family": "baidu",
  "sample_count": 2,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "Baidu (classified in antivirus detection telemetry under designations including Ransom:Win32/Baidu, Ransom.Win32.Baidu, and Win32/Baidu) is a crypto-ransomware designed to locate, encrypt, and hold hostage high-value user documents, database stores, and system files. Disseminated across enterprise networks and consumer workstations via social engineering, phishing attachments, malicious drive-by downloads, or weaponized software cracks, Baidu executes an initial reconnaissance phase upon system ingress. The binary evaluates host privileges, detects active hypervisors and sandbox environments to evade behavioral analysis, and establishes resilient autostart persistence by configuring registry keys under HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run or registering background Windows services. Operational mechanics characteristic of this family include file system traversal, high-speed symmetric/asymmetric encryption, Volume Shadow Copy destruction via vssadmin, and extortion note display. Outbound communication is established with remote threat actor infrastructure to beacon operational status and receive tasking, posing significant security risks to data integrity and host availability.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk Threat Intelligence Team.",
  "aliases": [
    "Ransom:Win32/Baidu",
    "Ransom.Win32.Baidu",
    "Win32/Baidu"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "curated_sourced",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Ransom:Win32/Baidu?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Baidu is a ransomware threat designed to infiltrate Windows systems and execute unauthorized operations without user consent."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How does Baidu compromise target systems?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It commonly infiltrates systems via phishing emails, trojanized software installers, exploit kits, or unpatched vulnerabilities."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What persistence mechanisms does Baidu utilize?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It typically creates autostart entries in the Windows Registry (HKCU/HKLM Run keys), registers scheduled tasks, or installs hidden background services."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What risks does Baidu pose to an enterprise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It can lead to credential theft, system manipulation, unauthorized remote access, data loss, or secondary malware delivery."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How can administrators detect and eliminate Baidu?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Deploy modern EDR solutions with updated behavioral signatures, isolate infected endpoints, audit autostart persistence entries, and conduct full antimalware scans."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq_count": 5,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1486",
    "T1490",
    "T1489",
    "T1547.001",
    "T1083"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-10-16",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1189",
      "name": "Drive-by Compromise (Initial distribution via deceptive software bundling)",
      "tactic": "Initial Access"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1562.001",
      "name": "Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools (Using drivers to prevent uninstallation)",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1176",
      "name": "Browser Extensions (Installing add-ons for search hijacking or telemetry)",
      "tactic": "Persistence"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Use the standard Windows 'Programs and Features' menu to attempt a clean uninstallation first.",
    "If standard uninstallation fails or the program reinstalls itself, reboot into Safe Mode and use an enterprise PUP removal tool to strip out the persistent drivers.",
    "Review browser extensions and search engine settings; manually remove any unwanted modifications.",
    "Implement organizational policies that restrict the installation of unapproved system optimization or security tools by end-users."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not automatically assume a system is compromised by advanced malware; this is a 'grayware' issue requiring hygiene remediation, not a full incident response.",
    "Avoid manually deleting files in `C:\\Program Files` without unregistering the associated services and drivers first, as this can cause system instability."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Healthcare",
    "Critical Infrastructure",
    "Enterprise"
  ],
  "motivation": "Financial Extortion",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ],
  "attack_stage": [
    "defense_evasion",
    "impact"
  ],
  "ecosystem": [
    "windows_pe"
  ],
  "is_emerging": false,
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "Microsoft Defender Threat Encyclopedia - Ransom:Win32/Baidu",
      "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=Ransom:Win32/Baidu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kaspersky Threat Intelligence - Ransom.Win32.Baidu",
      "url": "https://threats.kaspersky.com/en/threat/"
    },
    {
      "name": "MITRE ATT&CK - Enterprise Techniques",
      "url": "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1486/"
    }
  ],
  "target_platforms": [
    "Windows 11",
    "Windows 10",
    "Windows Server 2022",
    "Windows Server 2019"
  ]
}