Stampado

Overview

Ransom:Win32/Stampado is a notorious example of cheap 'Ransomware-as-a-Service' (RaaS). Unlike advanced ransomware families that demand massive payouts from corporations, Stampado was famously sold on the dark web for just $39 (`T1486`), allowing low-skill attackers (script kiddies) to easily generate and distribute their own ransomware campaigns.

Understanding Stampado (Cheap RaaS)
To an end-user, a Stampado infection results in the immediate encryption of their personal files, followed by a threatening ransom note demanding Bitcoin. For a SOC analyst, Stampado indicates that the network may have fallen victim to a highly untargeted, opportunistic attack, likely originating from a generic malspam campaign rather than a sophisticated Advanced Persistent Threat (APT).

Execution and Extortion Mechanics
Written primarily in AutoIt (a scripting language often used for legitimate automation but easily abused), Stampado is usually delivered via phishing emails containing malicious ZIP attachments. Upon execution, it does not require administrative privileges. It quickly enumerates user directories (`T1083`) and encrypts common document, image, and database file types using AES encryption (`T1486`). It establishes persistence via Registry Run keys. Crucially, Stampado aggressively attempts to delete Volume Shadow Copies (`T1490`) using `vssadmin.exe` to prevent easy restoration.

Indicators of Compromise & Impact
The impact is significant data loss and operational downtime. Host-based IoCs include the presence of files with a `.locked` extension, the sudden execution of `vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /quiet`, and the creation of ransom note files (often named `RESTORE_FILES.txt` or similar) in every encrypted directory. Because it was sold so cheaply, many different, slightly modified versions of Stampado exist in the wild.

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Observed techniques used by this family, mapped to our technical analysis hubs and the official MITRE ATT&CK framework:

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

Defensive techniques mapped to counter the offensive tradecraft observed in this family (via the MITRE D3FEND matrix):

Tiered Detection Rules (Cisco CAIRN Model)

Modern threat detection requires multi-layered rule engineering. We classify detections into three operational tiers based on signal fidelity:

rule MALWARE_WIN_STAMPADO_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Stampado"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "stampado" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Stampado (Ransomware) Execution & Triage
id: 38f709aa-6917-527c-9975-f2ef0cb08075
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Stampado malware family. Detects volume shadow copy deletion, boot status
  tampering, and recovery inhibition characteristic of modern ransomware operations.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/stampado
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/ransomware-protection
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/
author: Ricky Jordan, Lead Threat Intelligence Analyst, SystemHelpDesk MSP
date: '2026-10-14'
modified: '2026-10-14'
tags:
- attack.ransomware
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1083
- attack.t1486
- attack.t1490
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \vssadmin.exe
    - \wmic.exe
    - \wbadmin.exe
    - \bcdedit.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - delete shadows
    - shadowcopy delete
    - resize shadowstorage
    - recoveryenabled no
    - ignoreallfailures
  condition: selection_process
falsepositives:
- Legitimate enterprise administrative scripts during approved change windows
- Authorized IT software deployment utilities and backup management agents
level: critical

rule MALWARE_WIN_STAMPADO_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Stampado tradecraft"
        tier = "T3 - Attribution Fingerprint"
        confidence = "High (Confirmed Family Signature)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        // Core family identifier & heuristic payload signatures
        $attrib_str = "stampado" ascii wide nocase
        $pe_magic = "MZ" ascii
        $net_marker = "http" ascii nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and ($attrib_str and $net_marker) and filesize < 15MB
}

Containment & Response Steps

Ordered checklist for responders. Adapt to your environment and engage professional support for active incidents.

1. Isolate the infected endpoint immediately by physically disconnecting it from the network to prevent the encryption of mapped network drives.
2. Identify the initial vector (e.g., the specific phishing email) and purge similar emails from the corporate mail server.
3. Check for the availability of known decryptors; because Stampado was poorly coded in some versions, free decryption tools exist for certain variants.
4. Restore encrypted files from secure, offline backups that were not accessible to the infected host.

What to Avoid

Common mistakes during response to this family that can destroy evidence, spread the infection, or worsen recovery.

1. Do not pay the ransom; given the low skill of the attackers who bought this RaaS, there is a very high chance they will not provide the decryption key.
2. Avoid rebooting the infected machine repeatedly, as some ransomware families are designed to delete files permanently upon reboot if unpaid.

References & External Analysis

• Search "stampado" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "stampado" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "stampado" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Ransomware)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Lunam
• Figyek
• Alphaeon
• Matsnu
• Cobalt
• Grandcrap
• Serveradmin
• Hokobot

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/api/stampado.json

Ecosystem & Interactive Environments

This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.