SeginChile Ransomware

Posted: May 20, 2016

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.

Threat Level:	10/10
Infected PCs:	21

First Seen:	May 20, 2016
Last Seen:	January 21, 2022
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The SeginChile Ransomware is a threatening file encryptor that blocks your access to your data by modifying it with an AES-based encryption algorithm. Unlike most threats of its kind, the SeginChile Ransomware does not ask for payments in exchange for decrypting this content. However, its recommended solution may include other security hazards, and malware experts continue advising any victims to delete the SeginChile Ransomware and use other methods of recovering any damaged files.

When a Perfectly 'Good' Ransomware Comes without a Ransom

While they're well-known for suffering through periodic banking Trojan campaigns, South American residents also have to protect themselves from other forms of threat attacks. The SeginChile Ransomware's campaign, a Chile-based one delivered with accompanying Spanish-languages instructions, is perhaps the strangest of such attacks to date. While it includes almost all of the functions that one would expect of a traditional file encryption attack, malware experts confirmed a distinct omission: the lack of any ransom demands.

The SeginChile Ransomware's code bases itself on the eda2 open-source threat, which was a creation of the same entity responsible for Hidden Tear. While its distribution methods remain unconfirmed, past threats using the same code have been delivered through attacks stressing infiltration through illicit software downloads and spam attachments. Once infecting a PC, the SeginChile Ransomware runs through its payload, with functions including encrypting certain file types (DOC, HTML, JPG, PPT, and XML, for example) with an AES-256 algorithm, also adding a '.the SeginChile' extension to their names.

By far, this threat's most unusual feature is its instructional messages, which it places on your PC in HTML, TXT and desktop wallpaper formats. Although the SeginChile Ransomware does ask victims to undergo a Web-based procedure for procuring a key and decrypting their content, the SeginChile Ransomware makes no attempt to sell these services for money, which is the SOP for threatening file encryptors. The process launches through an automated Web application that leaves little room for con artists to insert manual ransom demands later.

Safely Dealing with the World's Cheapest File Encryptor

At a first glance, the SeginChile Ransomware may seem like an entirely harmless Trojan whose attacks can be remedied just by following the instructions it provides. However, since the automated process does require file downloads, malware experts caution that this attack could be a particularly convoluted attempt to install other threats. It also remains possible that the SeginChile Ransomware is a 'proof of concept' Trojan, with the ransom only meant for insertion at a later date.

The SeginChile Ransomware also shows some indications of using its instructions to identify itself incorrectly as being endorsed by entities in the Chilean security sector. As ever, attacks that encrypt content on your computer automatically never can be assumed to originate from a government branch or other, legally-backed authority. Ignoring all recommendations and instructions from the SeginChile Ransomware, and using backups to keep your files safe, are the two most important steps in responding to this threat.

Proper security protocols recommend deleting the SeginChile Ransomware, along with any other threat, with dedicated anti-malware applications before you implement any form of data retrieval. However, for Chilean residents, the most sensible course of action most likely will continue being avoiding unsafe downloads and scanning e-mail attachments that aren't immediately recognizable as being safe.

SeginChile Ransomware

Threat Metric

When a Perfectly 'Good' Ransomware Comes without a Ransom

Safely Dealing with the World's Cheapest File Encryptor

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