Hddcryptor

MITRE ATT&CK does not currently catalogue Hddcryptor, 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: low. Treat it as orientation, not attribution.

1. T1059.001 PowerShell Execution

   What they do: hddcryptor leverages PowerShell scripts to execute malicious commands on compromised systems.

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

2. T1112 Modify Registry PersistenceDefense Impairment

   What they do: hddcryptor modifies registry keys to maintain persistence across reboots.

   What that means: Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry as part of a variety of other techniques to aid in defense evasion, persistence, and execution.

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

   What they do: hddcryptor adds malicious entries to registry run keys to ensure recurring execution.

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

4. T1685 Disable or Modify Tools Defense Impairment

   What they do: hddcryptor disables security tools like antivirus software to evade detection.

   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.

5. T1070.004 File Deletion Stealth

   What they do: hddcryptor deletes Volume Shadow Copies and backup files to prevent recovery.

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

6. T1564.003 Hidden Window Stealth

   What they do: hddcryptor operates through hidden windows to conceal malicious activity from users.

   What that means: Adversaries may use hidden windows to conceal malicious activity from the plain sight of users.

7. T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery

   What they do: hddcryptor scans file and directory structures to identify targets for encryption.

   What that means: Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.

8. T1567 Exfiltration Over Web Service Exfiltration

   What they do: hddcryptor demands financial payment while threatening public exposure of stolen data.

   What that means: Adversaries may use an existing, legitimate external Web service to exfiltrate data rather than their primary command and control channel.

9. T1485 Data Destruction Impact

   What they do: hddcryptor performs data destruction on compromised systems as part of impact execution.

   What that means: Adversaries may destroy data and files on specific systems or in large numbers on a network to interrupt availability to systems, services, and network resources.

10. T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact Impact

    What they do: hddcryptor encrypts victim files using its own ransomware payload to hold data hostage.

    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.

11. T1489 Service Stop Impact

    What they do: hddcryptor stops critical Windows services to disrupt victim operations.

    What that means: Adversaries may stop or disable services on a system to render those services unavailable to legitimate users.

12. T1490 Inhibit System Recovery Impact

    What they do: hddcryptor executes commands to inhibit system recovery processes after encryption.

    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.