Meet ‘Tox’: Ransomware for the Rest of Us

The packaging of malware and malware-construction kits for cybercrime “consumers” has been a long-running trend. Various turnkey kits that cover remote access plus botnet plus stealth functions are available just about anywhere. Ransomware, though very prevalent, has not yet appeared in force in easy-to-deploy kits.

But now we have Tox–and it’s free.

toxlogo

 

 

 

While sifting though our stream of “dark web” data, McAfee Labs found Tox on May 19. It was updated on May 21 with a new FAQ and an updated design. But the core did not change.

tox2_1

 

Salient Points:

  • Tox is free. You just have to register on the site.
  • Tox is dependent on TOR and Bitcoin. That allows for some degree of anonymity.
  • The malware works as advertised.
  • Out of the gate, the standard of antimalware evasion is fairly high, meaning the malware’s targets would need additional controls in place (HIPS, whitelisting, sandboxing) to catch or prevent this.

Once you register for the product, you can create your malware in three simple steps.

  • Enter the ransom amount. (The site takes 20% of the ransom.)
  • Enter your “cause.”
  • Submit the captcha.

TOX_config_screen1

 

tox2_2

This process creates an executable of about 2MB that is disguised as a .scr file. Then the Tox “customers” distribute and install as they see fit. The Tox site (on the TOR network) will track the installs and profit. To withdraw funds, you need only supply a receiving Bitcoin address.

TOX_download_virus_file

Upon execution, the malware encrypts the victims’ data and prompts them for the ransom, including the Bitcoin address for sending payment.

TOX_client_exe_1

 

TOX_client_encrypting

 

TOX_client_encrypt_message_1

 

Technical Information

Although easy to use and functional, the malware appears to lack complexity and efficiency within the code.

pe_sections.JPG

Tox malware portable executable sections.

The developer has left several identifying strings within the code. Examples:

  • C:/Users/Swogo/Desktop/work/tox/cryptopp/secblock.h
  • C:/Users/Swogo/Desktop/work/tox/cryptopp/filters.h
  • C:/Users/Swogo/Desktop/work/tox/cryptopp/cryptlib.h
  • C:/Users/Swogo/Desktop/work/tox/cryptopp/simple.h

Tox-generated malware is compiled in MinGW and uses AES to encrypt client files via the Crypto++ library.  The Microsoft CryptoAPI is used for key generation.

 

Network Information

The malware first downloads Curl and the TOR client:

  • hxxp://www.paehl.com/open_source/?download=curl_742_1.zip
  • hxxp://dist.torproject.org/torbrowser/4.5.1/tor-win32-0.2.6.7.zip

All downloaded files and artifacts are stored in the following path:

  • C:Users<username>AppDataRoaming

After execution, Tox will start TOR in SOCKS5 proxy mode with the following command-line parameters:

-socks5-hostname 127.0.0.1:9050 –data

C&C_send.JPG

We don’t expect Tox to be the last malware to embrace this model. We also anticipate more skilled development and variations in encryption and evasion techniques.

We thank Alexander Matrosov of the Intel Advanced Threat Research team for his assistance with this research.

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