A new ransomware program in Brazil uses RDP brute-force attacks to infect hospitals Stolen or weak remote desktop credentials are routinely used to infect point-of-sale systems with malware, but recently they’ve also become a common distribution method for file-encrypting ransomware. In March, researchers discovered a ransomware program dubbed Surprise that was being installed through stolen credentials for TeamViewer, a popular remote administration tool. But the trend had started long before that, with some ransomware variants being distributed through brute-force password guessing attacks against Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) servers since 2015. While this method of infection was initially used by relatively obscure ransomware programs, recently it has been adopted by an increasing number of cybercriminals, including those behind widespread ransomware programs such as Crysis. Security researchers from antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab have discovered a new ransomware program that affected hospitals and other organizations in Brazil. The researchers have named the threat Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Xpan and say it’s the creation of a gang called TeamXRat, which previously specialized in remote access trojans (RATs). According to Kaspersky Lab, the TeamXRat attackers peform brute-force attacks against internet-connected RDP servers and then manually install the Xpan ransomware on the hacked servers. “Connecting remote desktop servers directly to the Internet is not recommended and brute forcing them is nothing new; but without the proper controls in place to prevent or at least detect and respond to compromised machines, brute force RDP attacks are still relevant and something that cybercriminals enjoy,” the Kaspersky researchers said in a blog post. “Once the server is compromised, the attacker manually disables the Antivirus product installed on the server and proceeds with the infection itself.” Brazil has more compromised RDP servers being sold on the underground market than any other country. It is followed by Russia, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. Fortunately in the case of Xpan, the ransomware authors made an error in their encryption implementation that allowed Kaspersky Lab to develop a method of recovering affected files without paying the ransom. There’s no downloadable decryption tool, but Xpan victims are advised to contact the security company’s support department and ask for assistance. Encryption implementation errors are not unusual in ransomware programs, especially in new ones. However, ransomware developers are typically quick to fix the flaws and sooner or later their program will end up using strong and unbreakable encryption. Related content news Tata Communications launches edge computing platform for enterprises The company will offer two pricing models for CloudLyte — one based on CPU resources used, and the other it terms as “use case as a service.” By Prasanth Aby Thomas May 07, 2024 3 mins Edge Computing Internet of Things news HPE launches storage system for HPC and AI clusters The HPE Cray Storage Systems C500 is tuned to avoid I/O bottlenecks and offers a lower entry price than Cray systems designed for top supercomputers. By Andy Patrizio May 07, 2024 3 mins Supercomputers Enterprise Storage Data Center opinion Does new security need to be old again? Security used to be an explicit part of networking, as it was in IBM SNA and mainframe security. Can and should networks be the security focus again? By Tom Nolle May 07, 2024 7 mins Network Security Networking analysis At RSA, Cisco unveils Splunk integrations, Hypershield upgrades At RSA Conference 2024, Cisco announced plans to integrate its XDR platform and Splunk’s SIEM, bolster its Hypershield AI-native security architecture, and add to its Duo access-protection software. By Michael Cooney May 06, 2024 5 mins Network Management Software Network Security Networking PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe