Article
Ransomware Decryptors for a (varying) fee
Arete Analysis
Ransomware attacks wreak havoc on business operations. Destroying recovery options, instilling fear and panic, and most often creating high levels of stress for IT staff, owners, and operators. A simple, but often costly fix is to just pay the Threat Actor for the decryption utility. While making a payment to an anonymous entity is a highly debated topic, let us assume, for the purposes of this article, that the payment is the only option other than closing your business. Please note, Arete is not advocating to pay ransoms; the choice is entirely a business decision to pursue. This article is intended to provide insight into the various types of decryptors the threat groups provide to unlock your files. We will discuss specific decryptors for some of the more popular variants as well as address subtle nuances between the decryptors.
Full Disk Encryption
Ransomware variants like THT, Mamba, or MCrypt use native or opensource encryption software to encrypt the entire hard drive of the system. Once the TA gains access to the system with administrator privileges, the TA will use a tool like Bestcrypt, DiskCryptor or even Windows Bitlocker to encrypt the full disk. Once encryption is complete, the system reboots and the victims are locked out.
Communication preference: Email usually protonmail, firemail.cc, or cock.li domains
Average ransom payment: $36,000 – $55,000
Preferred currency: Bitcoin (BTC)
Decryptor received: 100% of the time. TA will provide passwords per system for access
Watch out: MCrypt will hold volumes hostage and “re-extort” victims into making multiple payments. During the initial negotiation, the TA will not indicate multiple drives are encrypted. Instead they will negotiate a single amount for initial access to the Operating System; essentially allowing access into Windows. Once access to Windows is regained, victims often surprised to find their “data” partitions are encrypted causing the victim to return to the negotiation table to once again shell out more money to unlock their information.
Notes: After gaining access, the open source encryption tool still needs to be removed otherwise after reboot, the data storage will be locked again.
System Specific Encryption
Ransomware variants like Phobos, Dharma or CryLock are file level encryption. The TA gains access to the system, copies specific encryption executables onto the systems then runs the executables to encrypt the files. The results are files with a new extension appended to the old file name. Sometimes it’s a random sequence of numbers and letters (e.g. *.nocv) or a specific tag (e.g. *[CryLockDecrypt@****.com][1].[ID-*****- COM]). System specific encryption generates a unique key per encrypted system. The ransom note or the file extension may indicate an “ID” that would be different on each system.
CryLock Scanner & Decryptor
Communication preference: Email usually aol.com, protonmail.com, or cock.li domains
Average ransom payment: $27,000 – $500,000
Preferred currency: Bitcoin (BTC)
Decryptor Received: 95% of the time. Certain variants of Phobos and Dharma will attempt to re-extort a second payment if a large discount is negotiated.
Watch out: Phobos, Dharma, and CryLock are a two-step process. The TA will first send a “scanner” tool that needs to be run on every infected system. The scanner will look for the public keys used to encrypt the files, then write that information to a corresponding .txt or .ini file. Those corresponding files need to be sent to the TA in order to generate a decryptor. The TA in return will send the decryptors. The two-step process adds significant overhead due to the running of multiple tools on the infected system as well as the delay with communicating via email. On average after making a payment for the decryptor, clients are who are infected with Phobos are down for approximately 11 days whereas clients who are infected with Dharma experience downtime of about 7.75 days. The high number of days can be attributed to the two-step process and multiple email communications.
Notes: Negotiating with the Phobos and Dharma group can be tricky. These variants are Ransom-as-a-Service (RaaS) model so you’re not dealing with the same core group of people as you would with variants like Ryuk (or now Conti). Negotiating with RaaS groups can also create confusion and complexities with a different operator responding to each email. The groups who deploy these variants also look for exploiting publicly accessible Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Disable external access to RDP to lessen the chance of being infected by this variant.
System Specific Encryption with a Universal Option
Ransomware variants like Sodinokibi are file level encryption with a unique ID per system. Once the TA gains access to the network, they release their Sodinokibi ransomware throughout the environment. The systems are infected with a unique randomly generated file extension per system. Their ransom notes are usually within a text file and explain what happened, including if any data was exfiltrated. The group is very organized and can often share information about their victim’s networks including domain information, infected systems, and any stolen data.
Sodinokibi Decryptor
Communication preference: TOR Website via chat room. The ransom note contains a link to the TOR site as well as a unique key to gain access to a private chat room where the negotiations occur.
Average ransom payment: $170,000
Preferred currency: Monero (XMR)
Decryptor received: 100% of the time. Sodin offers a general decryptor which requires the victim to collect the file extensions from all of their infected systems. This can be very tedious once the payment is made, the victim can input any number of file extensions into the input box on the TOR site to generate a decryptor. Sodin will keep that private room open for 30 days after payment allowing victims to return if they find any extensions not previously found. A lesser known secret with Sodin, if you ask nicely for a universal decryptor, the operator may create the decryptor for you; providing a single decryptor that can be used across your network. The universal decryptor certainly saves a lot of time with decrypting files and minimizing the number of times having to launch the TOR browser.
Watch out: Earlier this year, Sodin changed their code base for their encryption payloads causing instability on certain Windows Operating Systems within the master boot files. Using certain security tools after a Sodin outbreak can cause systems to hang during reboot. Sodin encryption is one of the more aggressive encryptions.
Be sure to create a snapshot or backup the files prior to installing any new software or performing live forensics on critical systems.
Notes: Sodin has made headlines throughout 2020 for following Maze with exfiltrating data as well as being the first ransomware group to only accept Monero for payments.
System Specific Encryption with a Universal Option
Ransomware variants like Sodinokibi are file level encryption with a unique ID per system. Once the TA gains access to the network, they release their Sodinokibi ransomware throughout the environment. The systems are infected with a unique randomly generated file extension per system. Their ransom notes are usually within a text file and explain what happened, including if any data was exfiltrated. The group is very organized and can often share information about their victim’s networks including domain information, infected systems, and any stolen data.
Sodinokibi Decryptor
Communication preference: TOR Website via chat room. The ransom note contains a link to the TOR site as well as a unique key to gain access to a private chat room where the negotiations occur.
Average ransom payment: $170,000
Preferred currency: Monero (XMR)
Decryptor received: 100% of the time. Sodin offers a general decryptor which requires the victim to collect the file extensions from all of their infected systems. This can be very tedious once the payment is made, the victim can input any number of file extensions into the input box on the TOR site to generate a decryptor. Sodin will keep that private room open for 30 days after payment allowing victims to return if they find any extensions not previously found. A lesser known secret with Sodin, if you ask nicely for a universal decryptor, the operator may create the decryptor for you; providing a single decryptor that can be used across your network. The universal decryptor certainly saves a lot of time with decrypting files and minimizing the number of times having to launch the TOR browser.
Watch out: Earlier this year, Sodin changed their code base for their encryption payloads causing instability on certain Windows Operating Systems within the master boot files. Using certain security tools after a Sodin outbreak can cause systems to hang during reboot. Sodin encryption is one of the more aggressive encryptions.
Be sure to create a snapshot or backup the files prior to installing any new software or performing live forensics on critical systems.
Notes: Sodin has made headlines throughout 2020 for following Maze with exfiltrating data as well as being the first ransomware group to only accept Monero for payments. eir.co
Universal Encryption
Ransomware variants like Ryuk, WastedLocker, and Dopplepaymer are also file level encryption. These groups will gain access to the network and perform reconnaissance to identify the victim, understand their business, identify critical systems, and delete backups to force their victims into making a payment. The groups can have access to the network for a few hours or upwards of over a month. Ryuk is commonly associated with precursor trojans such as Trickbot and Emotet. Arete has observed Ryuk deployed as quickly as 6 hours after a Trickbot infection. Ryuk infections result with *.ryk appended to the file name. Comparatively, the deployment of WastedLocker is much more calculated with the TA staying on the network for an average of 2 weeks from initial infection to ransomware deployment. Wasted infections result with *.abcwasted appended to the file name where “abc” is a 3 letter abbreviation relating directly to the victims name.
WastedLocker Decryptor
Communication preference: Email usually protonmail.com domains or TOR Website
Average ransom payment: Ryuk $598,000; WastedLocker $2,400,000; Dopplepaymer $304,000
Preferred currency: Bitcoin (BTC)
Decryptor received: 100% of the time. The decryptor received is universal. It is typically a 32-bit executable that will work on any windows OS version. While these groups are known for a high ransom price, their decryptor is probably the simplest to run.
Watch out: WastedLocker is extremely difficult to negotiate. In fact, if negotiation is attempted, they may threaten to increase the ransom by approximately 5% of the ransom per day until it is paid. They are also very slow to respond to email and even post their business hours of UTC 5am- 8am and 5pm-8pm.
Notes: Dopplepaymer has been linked to gaining access to large environments and deploying cryptomining malware before launching their ransomware attack.
Pro Tips to Prevent Ransomware
Attacks
Implement Endpoint, Detection, and Response software such as SentinelOne to monitor the computer systems in use by your organization. SentinelOne uses Artificial Intelligence technology to detect malicious actions and prevent them before they can severely affect the endpoint.
Leverage a Security Operations Center (“SOC”) to monitor computer systems 24 hours a day by 7 days a week. The SOC can instantly respond to triage and mitigate any alerts while keeping your IT personnel focused on maintain business productivity.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (“MFA”) on remote access technologies such as VPN and Email.
Use complex passwords with a minimum of 16 alphanumeric characters (non- dictionary words).
Don’t reuse passwords.
Encourage discussion about cybersecurity within the workplace including establishing end user awareness training.
Ensure backups are current, air gapped from the production network, and viable.
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Article
Top 9 Security Controls for SMBs
In today’s complex cyber threat landscape, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) should implement a layered, multi-pronged approach to security. Here are some proven, effective controls to consider:
1. Implement MFA for All Users
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an effective and accessible way to protect sensitive data, comply with regulatory standards, and prevent unauthorized access to critical systems. By ensuring that users not only use a password but also a secure token, an organization can significantly reduce phishing attempts, credential stuffing attacks, and ransomware incidents. MFA should be enabled for email, VPN, and critical system access.
2. Update Patch Management Programs
A modern patching program should include policies and mechanisms to manage software updates in a timely manner. Patching efforts should address not just operating system updates, but also commonly utilized software within the environment. An active patching plan aims to reduce the mean time to patch and provide metrics on existing patch efforts. In the event of a high-severity vulnerability, a mature patching program should also be able to identify the risks and exposure for a given set of systems based on the average time to patch. This helps stakeholders make informed decisions when a new exploit is released.
3. Leverage a Properly Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Tool
With real-time threat detection and advanced visibility, endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions can enhance an organization’s ability to detect and investigate potential malicious activity, including ransomware, lateral movement, fileless attacks, and more. Effective management of EDR should include proper configuration, regular agent updates, and established procedures for responding to alerts.
4. Enhance EDR with Frontline Incident Intelligence
While EDR solutions are an important component of a security program, threat actors are continually adapting their techniques to evade detection, and as a result, standard detection methods may not always identify emerging threats or novel attack behaviors. To strengthen protection, organizations can supplement EDR tools with custom detection rules informed by incident response data. These rules can help identify indicators of compromise observed during cyber incidents, providing an additional layer of visibility beyond traditional detections.
Arete Bloktd℠ illustrates this approach by transforming threat intelligence and malware analysis into curated detection rules for EDR tools. Applying frontline intelligence to security tools can result in earlier detection, less investigative burden, and a more confident response.
5. Create and Continuously Test an Incident Response (IR) Plan
An incident response plan can help an organization effectively identify, respond to, and recover from a cybersecurity incident while minimizing disruption and downtime. An IR plan defines clear roles, escalation paths, communication strategies, and decision frameworks for both internal and external teams. To be effective, these plans should be regularly tested with post-incident reviews or tabletop exercises involving key stakeholders.
6. Maintain Encrypted and Tested Data Backups
In the case of a cyberattack, backups can help organizations maintain business continuity, support ransom negotiations with threat actors, and contribute to a timely and successful recovery. Encrypting backups makes it more difficult for threat actors to access or alter them, and regular testing ensures they remain accessible during a security incident.
7. Conduct Employee Security Awareness Training
Human error is a leading cause of cybersecurity incidents, and an organization’s employees are its first line of defense against cyber threats. Security awareness training reinforces the importance of data confidentiality, supports regulatory compliance, and helps employees recognize and understand red flags such as suspicious emails, malicious links, and social engineering attempts.
8. Assess and Address Existing Risk and Vulnerabilities
To maintain a proactive approach to risk management and improve resilience, organizations should regularly assess existing vulnerabilities through expert-led Vulnerability Assessments, Penetration Testing, and Threat Hunting Assessments. These exercises can help identify security gaps, support regulatory compliance, and prevent potential incidents. During remediation, prioritize high-impact vulnerabilities and make a plan for periodic assessments.
9. Apply Least-Privilege Access Controls
Employees should have access only to the systems, applications, and data necessary to perform their jobs. By removing unnecessary administrative privileges and regularly reviewing user permissions, organizations can reduce the risk of unauthorized access and limit the damage caused by compromised accounts or insider threats.
Organizations should regularly review their cybersecurity programs, stay informed about emerging threats, and evaluate whether their security controls are adapting to the evolving threat landscape.
Article
Ransomware Trends & Data Insights: August 2026
Although INC Ransom was the most active ransomware threat group observed in August 2026, overall activity remained relatively distributed across the threat landscape, with approximately 30 unique ransomware and extortion groups, including both established and newly emerged actors, observed during the month. Alongside INC Ransom, Storm, DragonForce, Qilin, and The Gentlemen were among the top five most active threat groups, underscoring the continued diversity and competitiveness of the ransomware ecosystem.
Figure 1. Activity from the top 5 threat groups in August 2026
Throughout the month, analysts at Arete identified several trends behind the threat actors perpetrating cybercrime activities:
August 2026 was a significant month for the emergence of new threat actors, with Arete identifying several previously untracked ransomware groups, including Storm, Dark Project, DireWolf, Morpheus, Orova, Spirals, Wallstreet Team, and Zawoo Team. This trend underscores the ongoing evolution of the threat landscape and the low barriers to entry for new cybercriminal operations.
Arete observed a continued use of AI-enabled capabilities across the ransomware ecosystem during August. Similar to Fulcrumsec and Setra, the newly emerged Zawoo Team appears to leverage AI-assisted analysis of stolen data, publishing highly structured and detailed victim assessments on its data leak site (DLS). Additionally, both the Aurora and Storm ransomware groups have been observed utilizing AI-driven or AI-assisted chat representatives during victim communications. These developments suggest that threat actors are increasingly incorporating AI to enhance data analysis, automate victim engagement, and improve the effectiveness and scalability of extortion operations.
In August, Arete also observed that despite sustained law enforcement disruption efforts, LockBit continues to demonstrate operational resilience, likely through the expansion of its affiliate ecosystem and the evolution of its tactics. Recent activity indicates an increased reliance on data theft and exfiltration-only operations, with observed victimology suggesting a notable focus on organizations within the financial sector.
Sources
Arete Internal
Report
Arete's H1 2026 Crimeware Report
Explore intelligence and operational data from the frontlines of ransomware and extortion response as we detail the most significant trends and developments in the cyber threat landscape in the first half (H1) of 2026.
Article
WinRAR Path-Traversal Vulnerability Exploited in Ransomware Attacks
CISA has warned that CVE-2025-8088, a path-traversal vulnerability in WinRAR, is being exploited in ransomware attacks. The vulnerability allows attackers to use specially crafted archive files to place malicious executables in locations such as the Windows Startup folder, enabling code execution when the system restarts. WinRAR addressed this vulnerability in version 7.13, but exploitation has continued due to challenges in updating the software. CISA's updated KEV entry now specifically identifies the vulnerability as being used in ransomware attacks.
What’s Notable and Unique
The vulnerability was initially exploited as a zero-day by the Russia-linked RomCom group, enabling malware execution at user logon and supporting credential theft, cyberespionage, and ransomware-related activities.
CVE-2025-8088 continues to be actively exploited by both government-backed and financially motivated threat actors. Observed campaigns have been attributed to Russian- and Chinese-linked groups targeting several organizations.
Phishing campaigns leveraging weaponized RAR attachments exploited CVE-2025-8088 to silently place malicious payloads in autorun locations using directory traversal and Alternate Data Streams (ADS).
The widespread exploitation of CVE-2025-8088 highlights strong demand for effective WinRAR exploits, with multiple underground vendors previously supplying exploit capabilities to a diverse range of threat actors. One such vendor, zeroplayer, advertised a WinRAR exploit in July 2025.
Analyst Comments
Organizations should immediately upgrade WinRAR to version 7.13 or later and conduct an enterprise-wide inventory to identify unmanaged installations. Given that WinRAR lacks automatic updates, Group Policy support, and integration with common enterprise patch management platforms, manual verification and remediation may be required to ensure all vulnerable instances are addressed. Security teams should also enhance defenses against archive-based phishing attacks by blocking or scrutinizing unsolicited compressed files, monitoring for suspicious file creation in Windows Startup directories, and detecting abuse of ADS. With CISA now linking CVE-2025-8088 to ransomware activity, organizations should treat remediation as a high priority and actively monitor for indicators of WinRAR-based exploitation across their environments.
Sources
CISA Adds Three Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog
WinRAR vulnerability being exploited in ransomware attacks, CISA warns