{
  "family": "satwancrypt",
  "sample_count": 7,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "Ransom:Win32/Satwancrypt is a destructive ransomware strain designed to infiltrate corporate networks, encrypt critical business data, and extort organizations for financial gain. Like most modern ransomware families, Satwancrypt focuses on rapid encryption and ensuring backups are destroyed before the victim is presented with the ransom demand.<br><br><b>Understanding the Satwancrypt Threat</b><br>To an infected user, the outcome is catastrophic: documents, databases, and critical files are suddenly inaccessible, their filenames often altered to include a specific extension (e.g., `.satwan`). A ransom note (usually a `.txt` or `.hta` file) is dropped in every encrypted directory, demanding payment in cryptocurrency (Bitcoin or Monero) in exchange for the decryption key. For a security operations center (SOC), a Satwancrypt detonation represents the final, most visible stage of a potentially prolonged network compromise.<br><br><b>Execution and Encryption Mechanics</b><br>Satwancrypt is typically deployed manually by attackers after they have gained deep access to the network via Initial Access Brokers (IABs) utilizing compromised RDP credentials (`T1133`) or unpatched VPN vulnerabilities (`T1190`). Once deployed via Group Policy or PsExec (`T1569.002`), the ransomware first attempts to neutralize endpoint defenses (`T1562.001`). Crucially, it executes a series of commands (often `vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /All /Quiet`) to destroy Windows Volume Shadow Copies (`T1490`), preventing the victim from easily restoring files locally. It then rapidly encrypts targeted files (`T1486`) using strong cryptographic algorithms (typically AES paired with RSA), ensuring the files cannot be decrypted without the attacker's private key.<br><br><b>Indicators of Compromise & Impact</b><br>The impact is severe operational downtime and potential permanent data loss. The primary IoC is the massive, rapid modification of files across the hard drive and network shares, and the appearance of the ransom note. Host-based IoCs include EDR alerts for the mass deletion of shadow copies and the sudden termination of database and backup services (like SQL or Exchange) to unlock files for encryption.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [],
  "enrichment_level": "expert-seo",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Satwancrypt and what threat category does it belong to?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Satwancrypt 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 Satwancrypt establish persistence and evade defensive controls?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Satwancrypt 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 Satwancrypt compromise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Security teams responding to Satwancrypt 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 Satwancrypt employ during execution?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Satwancrypt 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 Satwancrypt, and what is the recommended recovery procedure?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Decryption availability for Satwancrypt 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",
    "T1562.001",
    "T1569.002",
    "T1490"
  ],
  "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 Volume Shadow Copies)",
      "tactic": "Impact"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1562.001",
      "name": "Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools (Killing AV processes)",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1569.002",
      "name": "System Services: Service Execution (Deploying via PsExec)",
      "tactic": "Execution"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Instantly isolate the infected endpoint from the network to halt the encryption process, explicitly disconnecting it from mapped network shares and cloud syncing services.",
    "Do NOT reboot the machine immediately; capture a live memory dump (RAM) first, as poorly coded ransomware sometimes leaves the encryption keys in memory.",
    "Identify the specific variant and check 'NoMoreRansom.org' to see if a free decryption tool has been developed by security researchers.",
    "If no decryptor is available, wipe the infected systems and restore data from secure, immutable offline backups."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not pay the ransom. Paying funds criminal enterprises, and there is no guarantee the attackers will provide a working decryption tool.",
    "Avoid reconnecting the machine to the network until a full forensic investigation has determined the initial entry vector (e.g., how did the attackers get in to deploy the ransomware?)."
  ],
  "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"
  ]
}