Datakeeper

Overview

Ransom:Win32/Datakeeper is a destructive ransomware family that targets both individual users and enterprise networks, utilizing strong cryptographic algorithms to encrypt valuable files and demand payment for their release. Like many modern ransomware variants, it is designed to cause maximum operational disruption to force swift payment from the victim.

Understanding Datakeeper Ransomware
To an infected user, the outcome is catastrophic: documents, databases, and critical files are suddenly inaccessible, their filenames often appended with a specific extension (e.g., `.datakeeper`). A ransom note (usually an HTML or TXT file dropped in every directory) demands cryptocurrency. For a security operations center (SOC), a Datakeeper detonation often represents the final stage of a prolonged network compromise, indicating that attackers have successfully bypassed endpoint defenses and potentially moved laterally across the network.

Execution and Encryption Mechanics
Datakeeper is distributed via various vectors, including spear-phishing (`T1566`), malicious spam attachments, or manually deployed by attackers via compromised Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) (`T1133`). Upon execution (`T1204.002`), it often attempts to terminate critical database and backup services (like SQL Server or Veeam) (`T1489`) to ensure those files are unlocked and vulnerable. It executes commands to delete Windows Volume Shadow Copies (`T1490`) using `vssadmin.exe` to prevent easy restoration. It then traverses the file system and mapped network drives, encrypting files using a combination of AES and RSA cryptography (`T1486`).

Indicators of Compromise & Impact
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. Host-based IoCs include EDR alerts for the mass deletion of shadow copies (`vssadmin delete shadows`) and the sudden termination of critical services. Network logs may show the initial command-and-control (C2) check-in to exchange the public encryption keys.

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Observed techniques used by this family, mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework:

Generated Detections (Boilerplate)

These YARA and Sigma rules are auto-generated based on the family name and aliases. They must be heavily tuned before deployment in a production environment.

YARA Rule

rule MALWARE_WIN_DATAKEEPER {
    meta:
        description = "Detects Datakeeper (ransomware)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Boilerplate Generator"
        date = "2026-07-06"
    strings:
        $s1 = "datakeeper" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: Suspicious Datakeeper Activity
id: 2ff6ed03c8d176f0c8d91f0bd0c83612
status: experimental
description: Detects generic indicators of the datakeeper malware family.
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith:
            - '\cmd.exe'
            - '\powershell.exe'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - "*datakeeper*"
    condition: selection
level: medium

Containment & Response Steps

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

1. Instantly isolate the infected endpoint from the network to halt the encryption process, explicitly disconnecting it from mapped network shares.
2. Do NOT reboot the machine immediately; capture a live memory dump (RAM) first, as forensic analysis may recover the encryption keys from memory.
3. Check for publicly available decryption tools on 'No More Ransom'; some older versions of Datakeeper have known cryptographic flaws.
4. Wipe the infected systems and restore data from secure, immutable offline backups.

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. Paying funds criminal enterprises, and there is no guarantee the attackers will provide a working decryption tool.
2. Avoid reconnecting the machine to the network until a full forensic investigation has identified the initial entry vector (e.g., compromised RDP).

References & External Analysis

• Search "datakeeper" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Families (Category: ransomware)

Explore other malware families in the same category:

• Psloader
• Pyme
• Fotopapps
• Shopperpro
• Xpun

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://jordanricky1604-ship-it.github.io/malware-families-catalog/api/datakeeper.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.