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"What we’ve seen this month is a cluster of large spam campaigns delivering Locky. What’s especially intriguing in this case is how the cybercriminals behind the campaigns are testing new distribution channels… and different social engineering angles (such as using images to deliver the ransomware). The clear objective is to increase their chances for successful ransomware infections by spreading across untapped channels."But Locky isn't just trying out new distribution channels. It's also seeking to maximize the damage dealt to each victim by partnering with malware that enlists victims into a botnet. Heimdal has detected one such campaign.
First Comes Encryption, Then Comes the Botnet
In the latest offensive, Locky's developers are sending millions of pieces of spam to employees at various companies located all over the world. Each spam message comes with a subject line that tries to trick the recipient into opening the attached .vbs (Visual Basic Script) file.Image

"The encrypting malware then goes on to connect to a number of hard-coded IP addresses whose purpose is to enroll the affected computer into a botnet."Short of that, it will fall back on its domain generating algorithm (DGA) to get the job done.
Conclusion
In Kjaersgaard's mind, these Locky attacks demonstrate that bad actors still prefer spam mail as a distribution vector for ransomware:"Many users might still wonder if these indiscriminate spam campaigns still work, because they might seem outdated. But the truth is that Internet users still fall prey to curiosity and still open spam emails and click on links and download malicious attachments. Social engineering is deeply tied to human nature and our reflex to trust, which is why these tactics still work and will continue to do so."Researchers have yet to crack Locky as of this writing. With that in mind, it's important that users back up their data regularly and implement some additional ransomware prevention tips. They can also learn more about ransomware in general here.