Trick

Overview

Trojan:Win32/Trick (universally known as **Trickbot**) is one of the most successful, devastating, and modular malware families in history. Originally emerging in 2016 as a banking trojan designed to steal financial credentials via web injects, Trickbot evolved into a massive, modular botnet. Crucially, the operators of Trickbot transitioned to an 'Initial Access Broker' (IAB) model, using their massive network of infected enterprise machines to deploy devastating ransomware (specifically **Ryuk** and **Conti**) on behalf of top-tier cybercriminal syndicates.

Understanding Trickbot
To an end-user, the infection is invisible until the ransomware payload drops. For security analysts, a Trickbot detection is a 'code red' emergency. It means the organization's perimeter has been breached, lateral movement is likely already occurring, and a massive, enterprise-wide ransomware encryption event is imminent, often within 24-48 hours.

Execution, Modularity, and Ransomware Mechanics
Trickbot was distributed massively via Emotet malspam campaigns (`T1566.001`). Upon execution (`T1204.002`), Trickbot establishes persistence via Scheduled Tasks (`T1053.005`) and disables Windows Defender (`T1562.001`). Its true power lies in its modularity (`T1105`); it pulls down specific plugins (DLLs) from the C2 server based on the target. It uses modules like `pwgrab` to steal browser credentials, `networkDll` to map the corporate network (`T1046`), and `mshare` to aggressively move laterally via SMB exploits like EternalBlue (`T1210`). Finally, once domain admin privileges are secured, the operators push the final payload: a Cobalt Strike beacon, followed rapidly by Ryuk or Conti ransomware deployment across the entire domain (`T1486`).

Indicators of Compromise & Impact
The impact is total enterprise destruction via ransomware. The primary EDR IoCs include `svchost.exe` making anomalous outbound connections to known Trickbot C2s, the creation of specific Scheduled Tasks (often mimicking legitimate Windows tasks), and massive, rapid lateral SMB scanning originating from a single endpoint.

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

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

Tactical Mitigations

Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:

• T1105: Implement network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) and host-based firewalls to block unauthorized inbound or outbound file transfers.

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

Sigma Rule

title: Suspicious Trick Activity
id: f637a6b4759ba678ea782dbde152698d
status: experimental
description: Detects generic indicators of the trick malware family.
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith:
            - '\cmd.exe'
            - '\powershell.exe'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - "*trick*"
    condition: selection
level: medium

Containment & Response Steps

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

1. Initiate maximum incident response immediately. Isolate the infected endpoint, but assume the entire domain is compromised and lateral movement has occurred.
2. Disconnect the entire corporate network from the internet to sever the C2 connection and prevent the final ransomware payload from being downloaded.
3. Enforce a mandatory, immediate password reset for all Domain Administrators, as Trickbot specifically targets high-privilege accounts.
4. Perform a deep forensic hunt across the entire domain for Cobalt Strike beacons and Trickbot lateral movement artifacts.

What to Avoid

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

1. Do NOT treat a Trickbot alert as a routine commodity malware infection; it is almost always the precursor to a targeted ransomware attack.
2. Avoid relying solely on deleting the initial dropper; the modular plugins are injected into memory across multiple machines.

References & External Analysis

• Search "trick" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Families (Category: ransomware)

Explore other malware families in the same category:

• Chinbo
• Baserch
• Immirat
• Proteus
• Pwsime

Machine-readable

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