Hidden Tear is the first open-source ransomware trojan that targets computers running Microsoft Windows[1] The original sample was posted in August 2015 to GitHub.[2]
Technical name | Ransom.MSIL.Tear |
---|---|
Classification | Trojan horse |
Type | Ransomware |
Subtype | Cryptovirus |
Point of origin | Istanbul, Turkey |
Author(s) | Utku Sen |
Operating system(s) affected | Microsoft Windows |
Written in | C# |
When Hidden Tear is activated, it encrypts certain types of files using a symmetric AES algorithm, then sends the symmetric key to the malware's control servers.[3] However, as Utku Sen claimed "All my malware codes are backdoored on purpose", Hidden Tear has an encryption backdoor, thus allowing him to crack various samples.[4]