A "Maze" as a Ransomware

By Ashwin Venugopal -

 





About

Maze is a sophisticated Windows ransomware out for various organizations of the world. They asks ransom in the form of cryptocurrency for the safe recovery of the stolen encrypted data. Just like the other threat actors, if the victims refuse to pay Maze threatens to leak their confidential data.

This ransomware was discovered in 2019 and considered to be a variant of ChaCha ransomware. Since then, it is proactively targeting its victims worldwide. Its most high profile ransom case was that of Cognizant, one of the biggest IT services providers in the world. Its attack costed the company $50m and $70m in the immediate aftermath and further more to fully restore the organization's systems. 

How does it works?

Maze ransomware typically attacks through spam emails, brute force attacks, and via an exploit kit. The attack may also come from an organization's client or partner who is already a victim of the hackers. After gaining access, the hackers then try to get elevated privileges to deploy file encryptions throughout the drives. Maze also steals whatever data it finds and exfiltrate it to the servers controlled by malicious hackers who then threatens to release it if the ransom is not paid. 

These hackers also operates a website, where they frequently publish samples of stolen data as a punishment. Their website features an ironic slogan "keeping the world safe" and buttons that allows the sharing of the breached data on social media platforms. Maze website warns its victims that if the ransom is not paid, then they will:

  1. Release public details of security breaches and inform the media.
  2. Sell stolen information with commercial value on dark web.
  3. Inform any relevant stock exchanges about the hack and loss of sensitive information to lower the company's share price.
  4. Use stolen information to attack clients and partners as well as inform them about the hacking. 

Maze also uses the execution techniques previously used by RagnarLocker only. 

Shut Down of Maze Ransomware?

By the end of 2020, the group operating Maze announces its shut down through a rambling statement. They also suggested their victims to contact their "support chat" for the removal of their leaked data. The group claimed that they started the attacks to spread cybersecurity awareness. However, they also insisted that the group never actually existed. 

Later on, similarities were observed between Maze and two newly emerging strains of ransomware (namely, Egregor and Sekhmet). It strongly indicates that the group was simply planning their next wave of cyber attacks. 

How to protect against Maze?

Following steps might help in protecting a system against such ransomware attacks:
  • Implement strong passwords.
  • Activate Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
  • Simple user account permissions. 
  • Clear unused and outdated user accounts.
  • System configurations to strictly follow all security procedures.
  • Always have system backup in a remote configuration.
  • Have updated cybersecurity solution in place. 

Conclusion

Although Maze has reportedly changed its appearance and tactics, it can be still tackled effectively with the help of strong protective measures. 



































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