{
  "family": "passcrypt",
  "sample_count": 5,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "Ransom:Win32/Passcrypt (or Trojan:Win32/Passcrypt) is a severe threat generally classified as Ransomware or a destructive Password Stealer. It is designed to extort victims by either strongly encrypting critical personal or corporate data, or by exfiltrating highly sensitive credentials and threatening to release or misuse them unless a ransom is paid. The encryption routines utilized are typically unbreakable without the attacker's private key.<br><br><b>Understanding Passcrypt</b><br>To an end-user, a Passcrypt infection represents an immediate crisis: documents and databases are suddenly inaccessible, appended with a strange extension, and a ransom note (often a `.txt` or `.hta` file) is presented on the desktop. For an enterprise, it triggers a 'Code Red' incident response, requiring immediate network isolation to prevent lateral movement and the encryption of enterprise file shares and backups.<br><br><b>Execution and Extortion Mechanics</b><br>Passcrypt is frequently distributed via targeted phishing (`T1566.001`), exploit kits, or dropped by other initial access malware (like Emotet or Trickbot). Upon execution, it achieves persistence (`T1547.001`) and actively attempts to impair endpoint defenses (`T1562.001`). Crucially, before encryption begins, Passcrypt often executes commands like `vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /quiet` to destroy Windows Volume Shadow Copies, preventing easy system restoration (`T1490`). It then rapidly iterates through the filesystem and mapped network drives, encrypting files matching high-value extensions (e.g., `.docx`, `.sql`, `.pdf`) using AES/RSA algorithms (`T1486`). Advanced variants may also exfiltrate sensitive data *before* encryption to enable 'Double Extortion'.<br><br><b>Indicators of Compromise & Impact</b><br>The impact is catastrophic data loss and potential regulatory fines if data was exfiltrated. Host-based IoCs include massive spikes in disk I/O and CPU usage during the encryption phase, the sudden appearance of ransom note files in every directory, and EDR alerts for `vssadmin.exe` or `wmic.exe` attempting to delete shadow copies. Network IoCs may include anomalous, high-volume outbound traffic if the ransomware incorporates a data exfiltration module.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [],
  "enrichment_level": "expert-seo",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Passcrypt and what threat category does it belong to?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Passcrypt 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 Passcrypt establish persistence and evade defensive controls?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Passcrypt 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 Passcrypt compromise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Security teams responding to Passcrypt 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 Passcrypt employ during execution?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Passcrypt 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 Passcrypt, and what is the recommended recovery procedure?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Decryption availability for Passcrypt 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": [
    "T1486",
    "T1490",
    "T1562.001",
    "T1048"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-06-09",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1486",
      "name": "Data Encrypted for Impact",
      "tactic": "Impact"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1490",
      "name": "Inhibit System Recovery (Deleting Shadow Copies)",
      "tactic": "Impact"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1562.001",
      "name": "Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1048",
      "name": "Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol (Double Extortion)",
      "tactic": "Exfiltration"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Immediately physically disconnect the infected endpoint from the network (pull the Ethernet cable) to stop the ransomware from encrypting network shares and spreading laterally.",
    "Do NOT reboot the infected machine; if possible, capture a live memory image (RAM dump) as the encryption keys might temporarily reside in memory.",
    "Restore the encrypted systems from secure, offline backups that were isolated from the network at the time of the attack.",
    "Verify the integrity of Active Directory; ransomware is often deployed network-wide by attackers who have already compromised Domain Admin credentials."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not pay the ransom immediately; paying funds criminal syndicates, and there is no guarantee the provided decryptor will actually work or that data wasn't already stolen.",
    "Avoid reconnecting restored machines to the network until the initial entry vector (e.g., a vulnerable VPN or weak RDP password) has been completely secured."
  ],
  "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,
  "target_platforms": [
    "Windows 11",
    "Windows 10",
    "Windows Server 2022",
    "Windows Server 2019"
  ]
}