{
  "family": "bits",
  "sample_count": 1,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "Bits (classified in antivirus detection telemetry under designations including Ransom:Win32/Bits, Ransom.Win32.Bits, and Win32/Bits) 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, Bits 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/Bits",
    "Ransom.Win32.Bits",
    "Win32/Bits"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "curated_sourced",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Ransom:Win32/Bits?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Bits is a ransomware threat designed to infiltrate Windows systems and execute unauthorized operations without user consent."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How does Bits 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 Bits 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 Bits 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 Bits?",
      "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": "T1197",
      "name": "BITS Jobs (The core technique abused by this malware)",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1218",
      "name": "System Binary Proxy Execution (Using bitsadmin or svchost to proxy the network request)",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1041",
      "name": "Exfiltration Over C2 Channel (Using BITS upload jobs to steal data)",
      "tactic": "Exfiltration"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Use `bitsadmin /list /allusers` to identify the malicious transfer job and immediately cancel it using `bitsadmin /cancel <JobName>`.",
    "Analyze the job details to determine the source URL (where the payload was coming from) or the destination URL (where data was being sent).",
    "Identify the file that was successfully downloaded by the BITS job and isolate it.",
    "Investigate the initial vector that executed the `bitsadmin` command (e.g., an Office macro or a PowerShell script)."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not assume network traffic from `svchost.exe` is inherently safe; it is frequently abused by BITS jobs.",
    "Avoid just deleting the downloaded payload; you must cancel the actual BITS job, or Windows will redownload it."
  ],
  "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/Bits",
      "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=Ransom:Win32/Bits"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kaspersky Threat Intelligence - Ransom.Win32.Bits",
      "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"
  ]
}