Lorenz

Lorenz Ransomware: In-Depth Analysis, Detection, and Mitigation

Summary of Lorenz Ransomware

In early 2021, Lorenz ransomware was first spotted. Since then, its features have developed to match those of other widely-known ransomware. Lorenz campaigns are highly-targeted, with payloads often tailored to their intended victims. The ransomware’s operators use a multi-pronged extortion method, hosting a blog with the names of victims and leaked data for those who don’t pay. It’s worth noting that victims’ names are posted on the blog as soon as data has been taken from the target system, regardless of whether payment is made or not.

What Does Lorenz Ransomware Target?

Lorenz ransomware targets a variety of industries, including healthcare, finance, education, and government.  Lorenz campaigns against SMBs have been observed.

How Does Lorenz Ransomware Spread?

Lorenz delivery methods will vary by campaign or affiliate. Payloads are generally delivered via phishing email or a third-party framework (e.g., Empire, Metasploit, Cobalt Strike). Lorenz is often seen as a later-stage infection in larger compromises.  The exploitation of known vulnerabilities has been observed in Lorenz campaigns.  This includes CVE-2022-29499, a data validation flaw in Mitel MiVoice Connect.  Lorenz actors have utilized initial-access brokers (IABs) as well.

Lorenz Ransomware Technical Details

Initial delivery of the ransomware is often handled via a third-party framework (example: Cobalt Strike) once persistence in the target environment has been established. Lorenz campaigns are highly specific and well-researched. Encryption, historically, has been achieved via a combination of RSA and AES-128 (in CBC mode).

Lorenz actors have employed tools such as Chisel and FileZilla to pivot and tunnel through the target environment, as well as to exfiltrate data. Some versions of Lorenz ransomware have public decryption tools available. Furthermore, like other ransomware families, Lorenz will try to prevent system recovery by eliminating Volume Shadow Copies and making other system changes.

How to Detect Lorenz Ransomware

• The SentinelOne Singularity XDR Platform can identify and stop any malicious activities and items related to Lorenz.

In case you do not have SentinelOne deployed, detecting ransomware requires a combination of technical and operational measures designed to identify and flag suspicious activity on the network. This allows the organization to take appropriate action, and to prevent or mitigate the impact of the ransomware attack.

To mitigate the risk of this Ransomware without SentinelOne deployed, it is important to take a multi-layered approach, which includes the following steps:

1. Use anti-malware software or other security tools capable of detecting and blocking known ransomware variants. These tools may use signatures, heuristics, or machine learning algorithms, to identify and block suspicious files or activities.
2. Monitor network traffic and look for indicators of compromise, such as unusual network traffic patterns or communication with known command-and-control servers.
3. Conduct regular security audits and assessments to identify network and system vulnerabilities and ensure that all security controls are in place and functioning properly.
4. Educate and train employees on cybersecurity best practices, including identifying and reporting suspicious emails or other threats.
5. Implement a robust backup and recovery plan to ensure that the organization has a copy of its data and can restore it in case of an attack.

How to Mitigate Lorenz Ransomware

• The SentinelOne Singularity XDR Platform can return systems to their original state using either the Repair or Rollback feature.

• Public Decryption Tool(s)
  • https://www.nomoreransom.org/en/decryption-tools.html

If you do not have SentinelOne deployed, there are several steps that organizations can take to mitigate the risk of Lorenz ransomware attacks.

Educate Employees

Employees should be educated on the risks of ransomware, and on how to identify and avoid phishing emails, malicious attachments, and other threats. They should be encouraged to report suspicious emails or attachments, and to avoid opening them, or clicking on links or buttons in them.

Implement Strong Passwords

Organizations should implement strong, unique passwords for all user accounts, and should regularly update and rotate these passwords. Passwords should be at least 8 characters long, and should include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

Enable Multi-factor Authentication

Organizations should enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all user accounts, to provide an additional layer of security. This can be done through the use of mobile apps, such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator, or through the use of physical tokens or smart cards.

Update and Patch Systems

Organizations should regularly update and patch their systems, to fix any known vulnerabilities, and to prevent attackers from exploiting them. This includes updating the operating system, applications, and firmware on all devices, as well as disabling any unnecessary or unused services or protocols.

Implement Backup and Disaster Recovery

Organizations should implement regular backup and disaster recovery (BDR) processes, to ensure that they can recover from ransomware attacks, or other disasters. This includes creating regular backups of all data and systems, and storing these backups in a secure, offsite location.

The backups should be tested regularly, to ensure that they are working, and that they can be restored quickly and easily.