Ransomcortex

MITRE ATT&CK does not currently catalogue Ransomcortex, 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: ransomcortex uses PowerShell scripts to execute payload deployment and system reconnaissance commands.

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

2. T1106 Native API Execution

   What they do: ransomcortex leverages native API calls to bypass detection while executing malicious functions.

   What that means: Adversaries may interact with the native OS application programming interface (API) to execute behaviors.

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

   What they do: ransomcortex modifies registry run keys to maintain persistence across reboots on compromised systems.

   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: ransomcortex disables antivirus tools and security software to prevent system recovery.

   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: ransomcortex deletes Volume Shadow Copies and backup files to ensure data cannot be restored.

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

6. T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery

   What they do: ransomcortex performs remote system discovery to identify high-value targets across Brazilian healthcare infrastructure.

   What that means: Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.

7. T1049 System Network Connections Discovery Discovery

   What they do: ransomcortex queries system network connections to map internal communication paths for exfiltration.

   What that means: Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of network connections to or from the compromised system they are currently accessing or from remote systems by querying for information over the network.

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

   What they do: ransomcortex spreads laterally via SMB shares to compromise additional manufacturing network segments.

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

9. T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact Impact

   What they do: ransomcortex encrypts critical patient records and pharmaceutical databases using custom encryption routines.

   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.

10. T1490 Inhibit System Recovery Impact

    What they do: ransomcortex invokes system recovery inhibition commands to block automated restoration processes.

    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.