Zeppelin Ransomware

Most authors of ransomware rely on already existing threats and simply create copies of them with slightly altered characteristics. However, some cyber crooks prefer to build their data-locking Trojans from scratch. Such cybercriminals often are very experienced and highly skilled. This is the case of the Zeppelin Ransomware – a newly spotted file-encrypting Trojan that has been roaming the Web recently. Upon studying the threat, malware experts concluded that this project is completed and highly weaponized.

Propagation and Encryption

It is not clear what are the exact infections vectors utilized by the authors of the Zeppelin Ransomware. Cybersecurity researchers believe that it is likely that this nasty Trojan is spread via emails containing macro-laced attachments, fake pirated media or software, torrent trackers, bogus application downloads and updates, etc. Regardless of the propagation method involved in the distribution of the Zeppelin Ransomware, one thing is clear – its authors will try to squeeze out as much money as they can from this campaign. Upon infecting a host, the Zeppelin Ransomware will generate a victim ID that follows a particular pattern - <3 CHARACTERS>-<3 CHARACTERS>-<3 CHARACTERS>. This means that a file that you may have named ‘sunset-sea.png’ will be renamed to ‘sunset-sea.png.<3 CHARACTERS>-<3 CHARACTERS>-<3 CHARACTERS>’ where the characters can be numbers, as well as letters.

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The Ransom Note

When the encryption process has been completed successfully, the Zeppelin Ransomware will drop a ransom message that is contained in a file that is either named ‘!!! ALL YOUR FILES ARE ENCRYPTED !!!.txt’ or ‘readme.txt.’ In the note, the attackers make it clear that if the users want to know how to recover the affected data, they will have to get in touch with the authors of the threat inevitably. The creators of the Zeppelin Ransomware have given out three email addresses as a means of contacting them – ‘zeppelin_helper@tuta.io,’ ‘angry_war@protonmail.ch’ and ‘zeppelindecrypt@420blaze.it.’ Furthermore, for victims who would prefer to communicate over Jabber, the contact details of the attackers are ‘zeppelin_decrypt@xmpp.jp.’

Despite not mentioning what the ransom fee is, we can assure you that you will be required to pay a hefty sum. However, the attackers have not provided any proof that they are in possession of a functioning decryption key. Even authors of ransomware who are willing to prove that they have a working decryption tool often end up not sending it to their victims, even if the required sum is paid. This is why it is never a good idea to cooperate with cybercriminals. Instead, you should consider obtaining a reputable anti-spyware solution that will aid you in removing this Trojan from your computer safely.