{
  "family": "evillocker",
  "sample_count": 1,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "<h3>Executive Summary</h3>\nEvilLocker is a highly destructive Ransomware family designed to extort financial payment from victims by encrypting their critical data. It is known for its rapid deployment and aggressive encryption routines, prioritizing the immediate and widespread encryption of local and network-mapped drives to cause maximum operational disruption before security teams can respond.\n\n<h3>Infection Vector and Technical Capabilities</h3>\nEvilLocker is typically distributed via weaponized email attachments (spear-phishing) or deployed by threat actors who have purchased RDP credentials from Initial Access Brokers (IABs) and manually executed the payload within the compromised network.\n\nUpon execution, EvilLocker initiates a standard but devastating attack sequence:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Volume Shadow Copy Deletion:</strong> Before encryption begins, the ransomware executes commands (e.g., `vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /All /Quiet`) to destroy local system backups and recovery points, ensuring the victim cannot easily restore their files using Windows features.</li>\n<li><strong>Strong Cryptography:</strong> It utilizes strong encryption algorithms (often a combination of AES for file encryption and RSA for key encryption) to encrypt documents, databases, images, and archives. The encrypted files are usually appended with a specific, unique extension (often `.evil` or a randomized string).</li>\n<li><strong>Ransom Note Generation:</strong> A text or HTML file is dropped in every directory containing encrypted files. This note provides instructions on how to purchase cryptocurrency (usually Bitcoin) and contact the attackers to obtain the decryption key.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<h3>Threat Assessment</h3>\nAn EvilLocker infection is a critical security incident resulting in immediate and often catastrophic loss of data availability. The destruction of local backups means that without secure, offline backups, organizations face a stark choice between massive data loss or paying a criminal extortion demand.\n\n<h3>Incident Response and Remediation</h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Immediate Network Severance:</strong> The infected endpoint must be immediately disconnected from the corporate network, Wi-Fi, and any VPNs to prevent the ransomware from propagating to mapped network drives and cloud storage sync folders.</li>\n<li><strong>Preserve Memory (Do Not Reboot):</strong> If possible, capture a forensic image of the system's RAM before powering it down, as the decryption key might temporarily reside in volatile memory.</li>\n<li><strong>Eradication and Restoration:</strong> Paying the ransom is strongly discouraged. The only reliable remediation strategy is a complete bare-metal wipe of the infected systems and a full restoration from secure, air-gapped backups.</li>\n</ul>",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [
    "Ransom.EvilLocker",
    "Win32/Filecoder.Evil",
    "Trojan-Ransom.Win32.EvilLocker"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "insufficient_information",
  "faq": [],
  "faq_count": 0,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1486",
    "T1490"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-07-02T07:03:23Z",
  "type": "Ransomware",
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ]
}