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History and Evolution of TeslaCrypt Ransomware The Virus

TeslaCrypt is a ransomware that encrypts files. It is a program intended for all Windows versions including Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8. This program was released for the first time towards the end of February 2015. When it is infected on your computer, TeslaCrypt will search for data files and then encrypt them with AES encryption so that you will not be allowed to open them.



Once all data files on your computer are infected, an application will be displayed that gives details on how to retrieve your files. There is a link in the instructions to connect you to the TOR Decryption Services website. This site will provide details of the current ransom amount and the number of files that have been encrypted and how to make payment so that your files can be released. The average ransom is $500. It is payable in Bitcoins. There is a unique Bitcoin address for each victim.



Once TeslaCrypt is installed on your computer, it generates an executable with a random label in the %AppData% directory. The executable starts and scans your computer's drive letters looking for files that can be encrypted. It adds an extension to the name of each supported data file it locates. This name is determined by the version of the program that has affected your computer. The program uses a variety of extensions for files to encrypt encrypted files following the release of new versions of TeslaCrypt. TeslaCrypt currently uses the following extensions for encrypted files:.cccc..abc..aaa..zzz..xyz. There is a possibility that you could use the TeslaDecoder tool to decrypt your encrypted files at no cost. It is dependent on the version of TeslaCrypt is affected.



TeslaCrypt searches for all drive letters on your computer to find files to encrypt. It can be used to encrypt network shares, DropBox mappings, and removable drives. However, it is only able to target the data files on network shares when you have the share assigned as drive letters on your computer. The ransomware will not encrypt files on network shares even if you don't have the network share that is mapped as drive letter. Once it has completed scanning your computer, it will erase all Shadow Volume Copies. The ransomware will do this to prevent you from restoring the affected files. The version of the ransomware is indicated by the title of the application that appears after encryption.



How TeslaCrypt is able to infect your computer



TeslaCrypt is infected by computers when a user visits a hacked website that runs an exploit kit and whose system is running outdated software. Developers hack websites to distribute this malware. They install a special software program known as an exploit kit. This tool exploits weaknesses in your computer's programs. Acrobat Reader and Java are only a few of the programs that are vulnerable. weaknesses. Once the exploit kit has successfully exploited the vulnerabilities on your computer it automatically installs and starts TeslaCrypt.



Therefore, you should make sure that your Windows and other installed programs are up-to-date. This will safeguard your computer from security holes that could result in infection with TeslaCrypt.



This ransomware was the first to target data files that are used by PC video games. It targets game files for games like MineCraft, Steam, World of Tanks, League of Legends Half-life 2. Diablo, Fallout 3, Skyrim, Dragon Age, Call of Duty, RPG Maker and many more. However, it has not been determined if games targeting gamers result in increased revenue for the malware developers.



Versions of TeslaCrypt and the associated file extensions



TeslaCrypt is regularly updated to incorporate new file extensions and encryption methods. The first version encrypts files with the extension .ecc. Editum In this scenario the encrypted files aren't associated with data files. TeslaDecoder can also be used to retrieve the original encryption key. If the decryption keys were zeroed out and the key was found to be partial in key.dat it's possible. The key for decryption can be found the Tesla request to the server.



Another version is available with encrypted file extensions.ecc or.ezz. If the encryption key was not zeroed out, it is impossible to recover the original key. The encrypted files cannot be paired with the data files. The encryption key is derived from the Tesla request sent to the server.



For the version that has an extension file name .ezz and .exx The original decryption key cannot be recovered without the authors' private key when the decryption keys was zeroed out. Encrypted files that have the extension.exx can be joined with data files. You can also request a decryption key from the Tesla server.



Versions that have encrypted file extensions.ccc or.abc don't use data files. The key to decrypt cannot be stored on your computer. It can only be decrypted when the victim captured the key as it was being transmitted to the server. You can retrieve the encryption key by calling Tesla. This is not available for TeslaCrypt versions before v2.1.0.



Release of TeslaCrypt 4.0



The authors have released TeslaCrypt4.0 in March of 2016. The new version has been updated to fix a bug that damaged files that were larger than 4GB. The version also comes with new ransom notes, and does not utilize an extension to protect encrypted files. The absence of an extension makes it difficult for users to learn the details of TeslaCryot and what happened to their files. With the latest version, victims will have to follow the paths outlined in the ransom notes. There isn't a lot of established ways to decrypt files that have no extension without a purchased decryption key or Tesla's private key. The files can be decrypted if the victim has captured the key while it was being sent to the server during encryption.


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