{ "family": "dlsecure", "sample_count": 1, "category": "ransomware", "description": "

Executive Summary

\nDlsecure is a prominent example of \"Rogue AV\" or \"Scareware.\" It is a deceptive, malicious application designed to aggressively mimic the graphical user interface of a legitimate Windows security program. Its sole objective is financial extortion; it bombards the user with fake security alerts claiming the system is severely infected, demanding the user pay for a \"premium\" license of Dlsecure to remove the fabricated threats.\n\n

Infection Vector and Technical Capabilities

\nDlsecure is most commonly distributed via aggressive \"malvertising\" campaigns. Users clicking on dubious links or visiting compromised websites are redirected to landing pages that simulate a \"Windows Security Scan\" in the browser, ultimately tricking the user into downloading the fake antivirus installer.\n\nUpon execution, Dlsecure operates entirely on psychological manipulation and system lock-down:\n\n\n

Threat Assessment

\nWhile Dlsecure is incredibly disruptive and renders the computer practically unusable, it generally does not encrypt files (like ransomware) or silently steal data in the background. The primary threat is financial fraud (the extortion payment) and the denial of access to the workstation. However, the presence of Scareware indicates a failure of perimeter web filtering.\n\n

Incident Response and Remediation

\n", "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.", "aliases": [ "Rogue.Dlsecure", "FakeAV.Dlsecure", "Scareware.Win32" ], "enrichment_level": "expert-seo", "faq": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is Dlsecure and what threat category does it belong to?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Dlsecure is classified as a Ransomware. Documented across security telemetry, it is engineered to execute unauthorized operations, establish persistent footholds on target endpoints, and facilitate malicious campaigns targeting enterprise and individual environments." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does Dlsecure establish persistence and evade defensive controls?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Dlsecure typically establishes persistence through registry run keys, scheduled tasks, or service installations, while evading signature-based antivirus solutions through code obfuscation, memory injection, or anti-analysis sandbox checks." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What are the essential incident response steps for mitigating a Dlsecure compromise?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Security teams responding to Dlsecure should immediately isolate affected endpoints from the network, perform memory triage to capture volatile forensic artifacts, audit registry and startup persistence mechanisms, revoke exposed user credentials, and restore systems from verified, clean backups." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What cryptographic algorithms and file targeting techniques does Rogue.Dlsecure employ during execution?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Rogue.Dlsecure typically leverages hybrid cryptographic architectures combining symmetric stream or block ciphers (such as AES-256 or ChaCha20) for rapid file encryption with asymmetric algorithms (such as RSA-2048 or Curve25519) to securely protect the session keys. It aggressively targets sensitive file extensions including corporate documents, databases, virtual disks, and backups while systematically executing commands to delete Volume Shadow Copies (vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet) and disable system recovery options." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Are decryptors available for Rogue.Dlsecure, and what is the recommended recovery procedure?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Decryption availability for Rogue.Dlsecure depends on whether security researchers or law enforcement (such as the No More Ransom initiative) have recovered the master private keys or discovered flaws in its key generation routines. Victims should never pay the extortion demand, as payment fuels criminal operations without guaranteeing file restoration. The recommended recovery procedure entails isolating infected hosts, conducting forensic disk imaging, identifying the root access vector, and restoring validated systems from immutable offline backups." } } ], "faq_count": 5, "mitre_attack": [ "T1489", "T1491.001", "T1562.001" ], "cisa_advisory": null, "last_updated": "2026-10-15", "type": "Rogue AV / Scareware", "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, "mitre_attack_detail": [ { "id": "T1489", "name": "Service Stop (Forcefully stopping AV services)", "tactic": "Impact" }, { "id": "T1491.001", "name": "Defacement: Internal Defacement", "tactic": "Impact" }, { "id": "T1562.001", "name": "Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools", "tactic": "Defense Evasion" } ], "containment_steps": [ "Immediately isolate affected host(s) from the internal network (disconnect physical Ethernet and disable Wi-Fi/Bluetooth) to prevent Dlsecure from spreading laterally or encrypting network-attached storage (NAS) and shared SMB volumes.", "Preserve volatile system memory (RAM capture) on a representative endpoint before attempting a reboot or power-down, as Dlsecure symmetric encryption keys or uncompiled payload components may still reside in memory.", "Audit process execution logs and terminate active scripting interpreters (e.g. PowerShell, CMD, WScript) or commands executing 'vssadmin.exe delete shadows' or 'wbadmin' used by Dlsecure to inhibit recovery.", "Investigate the initial compromise vector (such as exposed RDP instances, spearphishing attachments, or vulnerable edge gateways) and enforce an immediate credential reset for all compromised Active Directory accounts.", "Restore critical assets and databases exclusively from verified, air-gapped, or immutable offline backups once the Dlsecure binary and related persistence hooks are eradicated." ], "what_to_avoid": [ "Do not restart or power cycle infected systems prematurely; doing so destroys volatile RAM encryption keys and may trigger bootloader locking logic embedded in Dlsecure.", "Avoid negotiating or paying the extortion demand without prior forensic evaluation and consultation with incident response specialists, as payment does not guarantee data recovery.", "Do not connect clean backup drives or external storage to the affected network until Dlsecure eradication is completely verified." ], "target_platforms": [ "Windows 11", "Windows 10", "Windows Server 2022", "Windows Server 2019" ] }