A new ransomware called B0r0nt0K is encrypting victim's web sites and demanding a 20 bitcoin, or approximately $75,000, ransom. This ransomware is known to infect Linux servers, but may also be able to encrypt users running Windows.
In a BleepingComputer forum post, a user stated that a client's web site was encrypted with the new B0r0nt0K Ransomware. This encrypted web site was running on Ubuntu 16.04 and had all of its files encrypted, renamed, and had the
.rontok extension appended to them.
Forum PostAs a sample of the ransomware has not been found, there is not much information other than what we have learned from the submitted files and by examining the payment site.
According to
Michael Gillespie, when B0r0nt0K encrypts a file it will base64 the encrypted data as shown below.
Base64 Encoded Encrypted FileThe file's name will also be renamed by encrypting the filename, base64 encoding it, URL encoding it, and finally appending the
.rontok extension to the new file name. An example of an encrypted file's name is
zmAAwbbilFw69b7ag4G4bQ%3D%3D.rontok.
While the user was not able to provide a ransom note, he was able to provide the URL of the payment site located at
http://borontok.uk/. When visiting this site, the user will be asked to submit their personal ID.
http://borontok.uk/ Payment SiteOnce an ID is entered, the user will be presented with a payment page that includes a the bitcoin ransom amount, the bitcoin payment address, and the info@botontok.uk email that can be used to contact the developers. In this particular instance, the ransom demand was 20 bitcoins, which is currently equal to approximately $75,000. The developers, though, appear to be willing to negotiate the price.
B0r0nt0K Ransomware Payment InformationWhen examining the source code for the payment site, BleepingComputer noticed the "Vietnamese Hacker" embedded comment. While this could indicate that the developer is Vietnamese, this is by no means proof.
Vietnamese Hacker comment in the source codeBleepingComputer has contacted the author of this ransomware for more information]source[/url] but has not heard back as of yet.
