What is Maze? Maze ransomware 2019 is a cryptovirus. Can files encrypted by the Maze ransomware 2019 virus be decrypted?
Maze Ransomware 2019 or otherwise known as Maze is a cryptovirus. It encrypts files and makes them inaccessible while adding a custom extension containing part of the ID of the victim. The ransom note is placed inside a text file and an htm file. There are a few different extensions appended to files which are randomly generated. The Maze ransomware note, gives specific instructions to victims on how they can allegedly restore their data, trying to charge them 500 dollars.
Threat Summary
| Name | Maze Ransomware 2019 |
| Type | Ransomware, Cryptovirus |
| Short Description | The ransomware encrypts files on your computer system and demands a ransom to be paid to allegedly recover them. |
| Symptoms | The Maze ransomware drops a legitimate ransom note with payment instructions, User-ID number, and other details. |
| Distribution Method | Spam Emails, Email Attachments |
| Detection Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Maze Ransomware 2019 Download Malware Removal Tool | User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Maze Ransomware 2019. |
Congizant April 2020 Maze Ransomware Infection
The Maze ransomware continues to be used as the main weapon of choice against large networks and high-profile targets. Just a few days ago a security report reads that the criminals have been able to break into the network of Cognizant which is a very-well known company, part of the Fortune 500 list. This is a multinational corporation that mainly provides IT services to its clients.
The company released information stating that it will provide its customers data about the indicators of compromise and detailed information on the breach. However not much information is known at the moment, albeit from the fact that the Maze ransomware was used.
Given the fact that this particular virus is known to be used by very experienced criminal groups we anticipate that this is a targeted attack which has been customized to be set against the company. It is very likely that a lot of preliminary research in order to break into the network and hijack as much data as possible. The serious issue here is that not only the company itself has faced severe issues such as system interruptions, but this has also extended to their customers.
We remind our readers that the latest versions of the Maze ransomware are designed not only to encrypt user data, but also to cause widespread damage such as network infections and setting modifications.
Maze Ransomware 2019 Virus March 2020 Update
New findings surrounding the Maze ransomware have been uncovered in March 2020. The criminals behind it have posted an official press release on various online communities. In it the state that they will offer a discount code to affected organizations. This is a clever social engineering tactic which is used to blackmail the victims into paying the designated ransom fee.
The message also says that the hackers will discontinue attack campaigns against medical organizations until the Coronavirus threat has passed.
When the hackers started to leak data from one of the contaminated sites this provided valuable information about the way the criminals have broken into the systems. It is believed that this was done by exploiting network services and Citrix systems in particular. Such security incidents are made possible mainly by not patching the installed operating system, applications and services.
January 2020 saw another dangerous release of the Maze ransomware. The active campaign is focused on infecting more hosts with the dangerous threat. Not only the full-fledged versions are released in the wild in directed large-scale attacks, but the sample analysis reveals that several upgrades have been done. They are primarily associated with the network connection parameters. The local client will poll remote servers for additional instructions and to provide hijacked information and data. The interesting aspect is that there are several servers listed — this mechanism shows that the criminals have created a large infrastructure of remote hosts. If one of them goes down the local client will be able to contact the next one in line.
During the network connection the analysis shows that the local clients will use typical browser user agents — this will mask the malware activity as ordinary web user sessions. This can potentially hide the presence of the virus from firewalls and intrusion detection systems which may be looking out for specific malware strings and identification in the network packets.
In December 2019 an unexpected turn of events regarding the Maze ransomware samples happened. The criminals behind the ongoing attacks (both using the original and later variants of the virus) started to expose the victims who did not pay the ransomware sum. This act of blackmail aims to use a psychological approach to persuade the victims into paying. The information is posted on public lists and includes file names and text labels that can be used to identify the affected companies.
The information is posted on a hacker-controlled website giving credits to the “Maze Team”. The hackers also claim to have exfiltrated sensitive data from the victims. The type of documents listed include spreadsheets containing financial information, patent applications and private correspondence. It is estimated by the available information that the total number of hijacked files ranges from 1.5 GB to 120 GB. As the maze ransomware 2019 samples have been launched globally and the majority of victims are located in the Canada, France, Italy, the USA and the United Kingdom. This is not the first time where Maze ransomware hackers have used such approaches. Earlier this month the hackers published about 700 MB of stolen data in an attempt to manipulate victims into paying the hackers.
Maze ransomware continues to wreak havoc as the hackers have been able to infect the city of Pensacola, Florida on December 7th. There is no confirmation that the city authorities have paid the hackers. Such infections can potentially affect institutions serving the municipality. It seems that the attack campaigns continue to target both home users and government institutions.
Maze Ransomware 2019 – November 2019 New Ransom Note
One of the latest releases of the Maze virus displays a different ransom note. This probably means that it is a distinct version from the original Maze ransomware sample or that other conditions have lead to its display.
The name of the malicious file is called officeupd.tmp which gives an indication that the hackers might be using Office related files as disguise. The virus will also search for Shadow Volume Copies and remove them if found. Like other viruses of this type it will also establish a connection to a hacker-controlled server allowing the controllers to take control of the infected computers.
Maze Ransomware 2019 – Update November 2019
A recent security report gives details on one of the biggest and most dangerous consequences of a Maze ransomware infection. The hacking group behind the threat has published stolen data from the security company Allied Universal. The total size of the leaked data is about 700MB and according to the criminals it represents only 10% of the total hijacked information. They pressure to release all data if the company does not pay the criminal group a given ransom sum.
Details about this hack were published on several security portals after the hacking group has reached out to the online media giving information about the hijacked data. The criminals have sent an email to one of the larger specialized media sites and introduced themselves as “Hacking Crew”. An important note is that the published data may include very sensitive information regarding employees, the company and their clients. Allied Universal employs approximately 200,000 people and has a revenue which is over $7 billion. Following a review by the media it has been confirmed that the compromised information is authentic.
The Maze virus hackers are demanding the sum of 300 Bitcoins in order to restore the files that have been encrypted.
Maze Ransomware 2019 – How Did I Get It and What Does It Do?
Maze ransomware virus 2019 might spread its infection via a payload dropper, which initiates the malicious script for this ransomware. The virus might also distribute its payload file on social media and file-sharing services. Freeware which is found on the Web can be presented as helpful also be hiding the malicious script for the cryptovirus. Read the tips for ransomware prevention from our forum.
Maze or also known as the Maze Ransomware is ransomware that is supposed to encrypt your files and shows a ransomware note, called DECRYPT-FILES.txt. Beside it, there are ransomware instructions hosted on a TOR network hosted website. You can see both in the picture below:
The ransom note called DECRYPT-FILES.txt states the following:
Attention!
| What happened?
All your files, documents, photos, databases, and other important data are safely encrypted with reliable algorithms.
You cannot access the files right now. But do not worry. You have a chance! It is easy to recover in a few steps.| How to get my files back?
The only method to restore your files is to purchase a unique for you private key which is securely stored on our servers.
To contact us and purchase the key you have to visit our website in a hidden TOR network.There are general 2 ways to reach us:
1) [Recommended] Using hidden TOR network.
a) Download a special TOR browser: https://www.torproject.org/
b) Install the TOR Browser.
c) Open the TOR Browser.
d) Open our website in the TOR browser: http://aoacugmutagkwetu.onion
e) Follow the instructions on this page.2) If you have any problems connecting or using TOR network
a) Open our website: https: //mazedecrypt.top
b) Follow the instructions on this page.Warning: the second (2) method can be blocked in some countries. That is why the first (1) method is recommended to use.
On this page, you will see instructions on how to make a free decryption test and how to pay.
Also it has a live chat with our operators and support team.| What about guarantees?
We understand your stress and worry.
So you have a FREE opportunity to test a service by instantly decrypting for free three files on your computer!
If you have any problems our friendly support team is always here to assist you in a live chat!
You should NOT under any circumstances pay the asked ransom sum, as you are supporting the cybercriminals that way and nobody can guarantee that your files will actually get decrypted.
The extortionists want you to pay a ransom for the alleged restoration of your files, same as with a lot of ransomware viruses. Maze Ransomware virus ransomware could make entries in the Windows Registry to achieve persistence, and could launch or repress processes in a Windows system. The ransomware encrypts files on a computer machine related to audio, video, and images, as well as documents, backups and banking data.
The Maze Ransomware virus could be set to erase all the Shadow Volume Copies from the Windows operating system with the help of the following command:
→vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /Quiet
If your computer device was infected with this ransomware and your files are locked, continue reading to find out how you could potentially restore your files back to normal.
Remove Maze Ransomware 2019
If your computer got infected with the Maze Ransomware virus, you should have a bit of experience in removing malware. You should get rid of this ransomware as quickly as possible before it can have the chance to spread further and infect other computers. You should remove the ransomware and follow the step-by-step instructions guide provided below.
Tsetso Mihailov
Tsetso Mihailov is a tech-geek and loves everything that is tech-related, while observing the latest news surrounding technologies. He has worked in IT before, as a system administrator and a computer repair technician. Dealing with malware since his teens, he is determined to spread word about the latest threats revolving around computer security.
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- Guide 1: How to Remove Maze Ransomware 2019 from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Maze Ransomware 2019 from Mac OS X.
How to Remove Maze Ransomware 2019 from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Maze Ransomware 2019
Step 2: Uninstall Maze Ransomware 2019 and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Maze Ransomware 2019 on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by Maze Ransomware 2019 there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Step 4: Scan for Maze Ransomware 2019 with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Step 5 (Optional): Try to Restore Files Encrypted by Maze Ransomware 2019.
Ransomware infections and Maze Ransomware 2019 aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to decrypt. This is why we have suggested a data recovery method that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files. Bear in mind that this method may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
If the above link does not work for you and your region, try the other two links below, that lead to the same product:
Get rid of Maze Ransomware 2019 from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Maze Ransomware 2019 and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove Maze Ransomware 2019 via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove Maze Ransomware 2019 files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Maze Ransomware 2019, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Step 3 (Optional): Try to Restore Files Encrypted by Maze Ransomware 2019 on your Mac.
Ransomware for Mac Maze Ransomware 2019 aims to encode all your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to decode, unless you pay money. This is why we have suggested a data recovery method that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files, but only in some cases. Bear in mind that this method may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
