Bqtlock

MITRE ATT&CK does not currently catalogue Bqtlock, so this is our assessment of the techniques it uses, drawn from public reporting. The techniques themselves, and every "what that means" definition below, come from MITRE ATT&CK v19.2. Confidence: medium. Treat it as orientation, not attribution.

1. T1059.001 PowerShell Execution

   What they do: bqtlock executes malicious payloads via PowerShell scripts to stage ransomware deployment across compromised systems.

   What that means: Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.

2. T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder PersistencePrivilege Escalation

   What they do: bqtlock leverages registry run keys to maintain persistence by automatically restarting the ransomware executable.

   What that means: Adversaries may achieve persistence by adding a program to a startup folder or referencing it with a Registry run key.

3. T1685 Disable or Modify Tools Defense Impairment

   What they do: bqtlock disables security tools like antivirus processes and monitoring agents to evade detection during infection.

   What that means: Adversaries may disable, degrade, or tamper with security tools or applications (e.g., endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, intrusion detection systems (IDS), antivirus, logging agents, sensors, etc.) to impair or reduce visibility of defensive capabilities.

4. T1070.004 File Deletion Stealth

   What they do: bqtlock deletes Volume Shadow Copies and backup directories via command-line utilities to prevent data recovery.

   What that means: Adversaries may delete files left behind by the actions of their intrusion activity.

5. T1135 Network Share Discovery Discovery

   What they do: bqtlock scans network shares using native tools to identify victim directories for mass encryption targeting.

   What that means: Adversaries may look for folders and drives shared on remote systems as a means of identifying sources of information to gather as a precursor for Collection and to identify potential systems of interest for Lateral Movement.

6. T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares Lateral Movement

   What they do: bqtlock moves laterally through SMB/Windows Admin Shares to encrypt additional systems within the victim network.

   What that means: Adversaries may use Valid Accounts to interact with a remote network share using Server Message Block (SMB).

7. T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact Impact

   What they do: bqtlock encrypts victim files and backups using strong symmetric encryption to maximize impact and ransom demand.

   What that means: Adversaries may encrypt data on target systems or on large numbers of systems in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.

8. T1490 Inhibit System Recovery Impact

   What they do: bqtlock invokes system recovery inhibition commands to prevent victim machines from restoring from backups or snapshots.

   What that means: Adversaries may delete or remove built-in data and turn off services designed to aid in the recovery of a corrupted system to prevent recovery.