Onion Ransomware

Posted: August 27, 2015

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Ranking:	3,867
Threat Level:	5/10
Infected PCs:	7,047

First Seen:	August 27, 2015
Last Seen:	October 17, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Onion Ransomware is a file encryptor that modifies your files for the purpose of holding them for ransom. Like other file encryption Trojans, the Onion Ransomware can't offer any guarantee that paying its ransom will return your files to a usable condition. As a consequence of that risk, malware researchers don't advise rewarding the Onion Ransomware's developers in response to an infection. Common backup strategies can prevent the Onion Ransomware from causing any long- term harm while good anti-malware products may remove the Onion Ransomware from your machine.

The Many Layers of a File Ransoming Attack

The Onion Ransomware is a Trojan more often delivered to corporate targets than to random individuals, which distinguishes its campaign from the Critoni Ransomware (one of its major branch-offs). Most threat campaigns targeting companies and similarly-structured institutions utilize e-mail as a main infection vector. This tactic is one that malware experts also have verified for the Onion Ransomware's campaigns.

A typical attack initiates itself through fraudulent e-mail messages crafted especially for the targeted machine. A fake invoice or similar message will instruct the reader to open a file attachment, which usually obfuscates itself with an archive (ZIP, for example). Opening the file launches a Trojan that installs the Onion Ransomware, which proceeds to encrypt the files on your machine.

The Onion Ransomware normally targets files according to type, with an emphasis on image files, documents and Microsoft Office formats. The files in question are forced through an encryption process, making them unreadable. The Onion Ransomware also may modify the file names with identifying tags, such as inserting the prefix 'MW_' or 'KK_' to them.

Finally, the Onion Ransomware drops ransom instructions on your hard drive that demand Bitcoin payments in exchange for a file decryption key.

Getting the Sting of the Onion Ransomware out of Your Eyes

Current ransom demands from the Onion Ransomware may equate to almost one thousand USD in value and provide no certainty of delivering the promised decryption key. However, malware researchers can endorse using routine file backups, via cloud servers or removable hard drives, for avoiding any permanent data loss from the Onion Ransomware's attacks. The Onion Ransomware has no additional attacks against the infected PC, although additional threats related to its campaign may offer other safety concerns.

Developments in the Onion Ransomware continue offering new features and modifications to this threat in 2015, largely focused on the CTB-Locker (Curve Tor Bitcoin) variant. Individual versions of the Onion Ransomware may offer slightly different behaviors, such as providing 'trial' decryption features for a set number of files. However, these changes don't change malware researchers' advice when dealing with this threat: victims should uninstall the Onion Ransomware with tried and tested anti-malware solutions, at all times.

As with most file encryptors, the difficulty in decrypting files affected by the Onion Ransomware continues to emphasize the need to exercise file backup strategies and preventative anti-malware tactics.

Onion Ransomware

Threat Metric

The Many Layers of a File Ransoming Attack

Getting the Sting of the Onion Ransomware out of Your Eyes

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