This means that your backups, which you would want to keep intact in the event of a ransomware infection, may also fall victim to this malware. Worse, there is code in the app - though unused at this time, according to Xiao - in a routine called '_encrypt_timemachine'.

The fact that this malware will encrypt external drives and connected network volumes means that it could encrypt backups, including Time Machine backups stored on a Time Capsule. In each folder where files have been encrypted, a file named 'README_FOR_DECRYPT.txt' is created, containing instructions for how to pay for a decryption key. According to Xiao, it will encrypt everything in the /Users folder, as well as files having common document extensions found in the /Volumes folder (in other words, files that are on connected external hard drives, servers, etc). The latter of these files contains a timestamp, which is used to identify when 3 days have passed.Īfter 3 days, the malware 'detonates' and begins encrypting files. This kernel_service process remains running in the background, and creates additional files named. When the app is launched, this file is copied to a file named kernel_service in the user Library folder (which is hidden by default on recent versions of OS X). The modified copy of Transmission includes a file named General.rtf, which is actually an executable file rather than the rich-text document it pretends to be. The infected app was distributed from the official Transmission website, but with a different code signature than the normal one previously used to sign the Transmission app, implying that the app itself had been modified and re-signed by the attacker (although this has not yet been confirmed). It's in the wild.Īccording to Xiao, the Transmission app - a BitTorrent client - was infected to include this ransomware. It was revealed on Sunday by Claud Xiao of Palo Alto Networks that KeRanger is the first real Mac ransomware, and it's not just theoretical. Apple quietly added detection of something called 'KeRanger' to the XProtect anti-malware definitions in OS X on Saturday.

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