Blackheel Ransomware

The Blackheel Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that's a variant of Utku Sen's Hidden Tear project. The Blackheel Ransomware can block the user's files with AES encryption and use ransom notes to demand Bitcoins for recovery. Users should invest in properly-maintained backups for their recovery needs and let compatible anti-malware and PC security solutions remove the Blackheel Ransomware.

The Extra Stomp that Punctuates Digital Extortion

As users become more well-rehearsed at protecting their digital belongings, cyber-saboteurs require a defter touch to get their ransoms. Examples of the evolving times include the Blackheel Ransomware, a new variant of the once-extremely-popular Hidden Tear project, which is some years beyond its heyday. Despite using a 'freeware' source of code, the Blackheel Ransomware offers extortionist rhetoric that's similar to the attacks of corporate-targeting entities like the NEFILIM Ransomware family.

First and foremost, the Blackheel Ransomware locks Windows users' digital media files, such as their documents or pictures, by leveraging a symmetrical AES encryption routine that converts them into illegible data – supposedly, temporarily. The Trojan also adds 'a' extensions (a possible placeholder element) to their names, which doesn't affect the encryption.

As is often true, malware researchers find more exciting details in the Blackheel Ransomware's ransom note, a TXT file. The message asks for 0.2 Bitcoins, or seven thousand USD, to the threat actor's currently-empty wallet. However, it also provides another warning: it threatens to leak the server's data after 168 hours and even notifying GDPR for violations. Since the GDPR is specific to the EU region, it offers a decent estimate of who the attacker's planned victims are: unsafely-maintained servers and networks around Europe.

Stopping Tears over Files in the EU

Unlike most Trojans with similar payloads, there is a free unlocker or decryption application for Hidden Tear. It may or may not be congruent with the Blackheel Ransomware variant; malware researchers recommend that victims copy their files before testing decryption solutions. Ideally, Windows users have their work saved to other devices safely in well-maintained backups.

Malware researchers recommend that administrators monitor software for any vulnerabilities and patch them as soon as possible. Leaving exploitable software available to attackers can lead to entire servers and networks becoming ripe targets for file-locking Trojans like the Blackheel Ransomware, along with the dangers of espionage and other issues. Users also should keep track of their passwords and avoid using ones that could be weak to brute-forcing (a la the classic 'admin123'). E-mails also should receive a careful inspection for possible phishing lures and tactics, including obfuscated links or threatening attachments.

Happily, the threat actor puts no effort into concealing the Trojan's origin. Most cyber-security applications that can remove Hidden Tear also will flag and delete the Blackheel Ransomware from Windows systems.

With a format to its installer that implies a preference for MySQL-using targets, the Blackheel Ransomware has many options for victims in Europe. Whether it spreads outward to the rest of the world from there is up to its ransom-paying victims.