Pecunia Ransomware
The Pecunia Ransomware is a potent malware based on the Makop Ransomware family. Although it doesn't exhibit any major improvements over a typical Makop Ransomware threat, the Pecunia Ransomware remains a threat that can lock users out from accessing their own files effectively. All victims will then be extorted for money in exchange for the decryption key needed to restore the encrypted data.
The Pecunia Ransomware follows a complex naming convention for the files it encrypts. The threat takes the original filename and then appends to it a string of characters unique for the specific victims, an email address under the control of the hackers, and finally '.pecunia' as a new file extension. The email address is 'pecunia0318@airmail.cc.' Upon completing its encryption process, the Pecunia Ransomware will drop a text file named readme-warning.txt carrying a ransom note with instructions for the victim in every folder containing locked files.
The note doesn't mention the exact sum of the ransom demanded by the hackers. It does clarify, though' that money must be sent using the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The criminals also allow their victims to send 2 non-important files that are less than 1MB in size to be decrypted for free. For that purpose, they provide three email addresses - 'pecunia0318@airmail.cc,' 'pecunia0318@goat.si,' and 'pecunia0318@tutanota.com.'
The full set of instructions dropped by the Pecunia Ransomware is:
'::: Greetings :::
Little FAQ:
.1.
Q: Whats Happen?
A: Your files have been encrypted and now have the "pecunia" extension. The file structure was not damaged, we did everything possible so that this could not happen.
.2.
Q: How to recover files?
A: If you wish to decrypt your files you will need to pay in bitcoins.
.3.
Q: What about guarantees?
A: Its just a business. We absolutely do not care about you and your deals, except getting benefits. If we do not do our work and liabilities - nobody will cooperate with us. Its not in our interests.
To check the ability of returning files, you can send to us any 2 files with SIMPLE extensions(jpg,xls,doc, etc... not databases!) and low sizes(max 1 mb), we will decrypt them and send back to you. That is our guarantee.
.4.
Q: How to contact with you?
A: You can write us to our mailbox: pecunia0318@airmail.cc or pecunia0318@goat.si or pecunia0318@tutanota.com
.5.
Q: How will the decryption process proceed after payment?
A: After payment we will send to you our scanner-decoder program and detailed instructions for use. With this program you will be able to decrypt all your encrypted files.
.6.
Q: If I don’t want to pay bad people like you?
A: If you will not cooperate with our service - for us, its does not matter. But you will lose your time and data, cause only we have the private key. In practice - time is much more valuable than money.
:::BEWARE:::
DON'T try to change encrypted files by yourself!
If you will try to use any third party software for restoring your data or antivirus solutions - please make a backup for all encrypted files!Any changes in encrypted files may entail damage of the private key and, as result, the loss all data.'
