Ransomware Research
About Alco
Alco
Alco was first discovered in September 2018 in enterprise cloud environments. Alco is found in environments with a number of different names, including Maoloa-Alco, China.Helper, X_Mister, 4444, 666, 865, etc. For a full list of all names, please see below.
| Name | Alco |
|---|---|
| AKA |
|
| First Seen | September 2018 |
Genealogy
To better understand Alco, we can trace it’s origins. Below is a snapshot of Alco’s genealogy.
| GlobeImposter » Maoloa, Alco |
Targeting
Behavior of Alco
Alco is known to target specific file types. Below are all known file types that Alco is known to infect.
In some cases, ransomware will update the modified date, when it encrypts files. Alco updates the last modified date of the file it targets.
Learn More
Characteristics of Alco
Here are some of the unique characteristics that are helpful to know about Alco.
Suffixes
Some ransomware will change or append a suffix to the end of the file after they are encrypted, including changing the extension of a file. Here are some of the possible suffixes that Alco ransomware is known to change.
| Suffixes | .Alco4444, .Ox4444, .Mr-X666, .Tiger4444, .Pig4444, .Dragon4444, .pig4444, .Horse4444, .TROLL, .Ares666, .Persephone666, .haka, .Rabbit4444, .Hades666, .Hermes666, .Apollon865, .Ares865, .Artemis865-20, .Artemis865, .Athena865, .Rooster865qq, .Rooster865, .Rooster865qqZ, .Monkey865qqZ, .Monkey865, .Encrypted, .Globeimposter-Alpha666qqz |
|---|
Ransomware Notes
Not all ransomware leaves a note. However, some ransomware leaves the infected party instructions on what the user should do to get rid of the ransomware, or satisfy the ransom. This often involves transferring money, often bitcoin or another cryptocurrency to a designated wallet.
Below are the type(s) of notes, content, and typical locations where Elastio has found ransom notes from Alco.
| Type | file |
|---|---|
| File Name | HOW TO BACK YOUR FILES.txt |
| Location | EveryFolder |
| Type | file |
|---|---|
| File Name | HOW_TO_BACK_FILES.txt |
| Location | EveryFolder |
Executables
These are the names of the executables that contain the undetonated ransomware payload for Alco.
| Executables | GlobeImposter.exe, test_v.doc, svhost.exe, Tiger4444.exe, Persephone666.exe, Rabbit4444.exe, Hades666.exe, Athena865.exe, WINLOGON_PROTECTED.EXE, winlogon.exe, Hakbdyww7.exe, cia.exe, bfsv.exe, Data Recovery.bin, Apollon865.exe, winlogon_protected.exe |
|---|
External Pages
Ransomware often links to external pages such as payment pages, telegram contacts, etc. Below are some of the URLs Elastio has found to be associated with Alco.
| External Pages |
|
|---|
How Elastio can help
Don’t let ransomware
take over your data.
Elastio is a cloud-native data resilience platform on AWS, providing robust security and assuring the recoverability of critical data in cloud environments.
Elastio protects data from ransomware and malware evading perimeter defenses and mitigates downtime, data loss, and reputational harm for businesses.
