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Researchers have developed a decryption tool for the recently discovered EvilQuest ransomware program designed to target Mac machines. But several analysts now concur that EvilQuest’s malicious encryption may be more of a decoy, while the program’s true purpose appears to be data exfiltration.
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In a new blog post this week, Thomas Reed, director of Mac and mobile at Malwarebytes, backed up an earlier conclusion by BleepingComputer that EvilQuest should be classified more as an information stealer and wiper that attempts to hide its data thievery through misdirection.
Additionally, Mac security company Objective-See has similarly reported that the malware is more than meets the eye, and “far more powerful and insidious” than any “mundane ransomware.”
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Multiple analyses of EvilQuest have found that aside from encrypting files, the malware includes capabilities for keylogging, in-memory code execution, anti-analysis techniques and installing a reverse shell for remotely executing commands. But most notable is a Python script that reportedly searches for particular file formats in the /Users folder, encodes these files using base64 and sends them and their paths to a command-and-control server. BleepingComputer reports that these files include images, Word documents, SSL certificates, code-signing certificates, source code, projects, spreadsheets, databases, crypto wallets and more.
The ransomware component, meanwhile, might simply be a disruptive form of window dressing intended to trick victims.
“We definitely think the goal is more to hide evidence rather than being a real ransom,” said Reed in an interview with SC Media. “If the attacker were doing this for purely destructive purposes, they would not likely go to the effort of writing all the other code, and could have done a better job of destroying data.”
Even if the encryption isn’t fully effective at damaging a victim’s files, it may be enough to conceal that data exfiltration took place. “In theory, the first thing someone is likely to do after getting hit with ransomware is wipe the machine and restore from backup. This means they’d never know about the data exfiltration,” Reed continued. “I don’t know whether that’s a better outcome than silent exfiltration that goes completely unnoticed, though.”
Because of its info-stealing capabilities, and to avoid confusion with an unrelated video game called EvilQuest, BleepingComputer and Malwarebytes have instead begun referring to the malware as ThiefQuest. According to the research firms, there were several clues that EvilQuest/ThiefQuest’s creators weren’t too heavily interested in the malicious encryption component. Certainly, one of them is the fact that researchers at SentinelLabs were able to produce a decryption tool relatively easily.
Canon mx310 scanner software mac. In its own company blog post, SentinelOne reported that EvilQuest’s developers opted for symmetric key encryption, and according to research lead Jason Reaves, “…the clear text key used for encoding the file encryption key ends up being appended to the encoded file encryption key. Taking a look at a completely encrypted file shows that a block of data has been appended to it.”
It was this discovery that enabled SentinelOne to devise a decryptor.
“The encryption really wasn’t very strong. It was RC2, which was designed back in the ’80s and is vulnerable to some known methods for cracking it,” Reed told SC Media. “Further, the encryption key was appended to the end of each file. So this is definitely further info that supports the theory that the ransom is only a cover.”
“Crypto is hard, and about the one thing everyone who is smart enough to do it will tell you is this: don’t try and roll your own, because you will inevitably do it wrong,” explained the SentinelOne blog post, authored by threat researcher Phil Stokes. “Successful ransomware operators are smart enough to follow that advice and will use established encryption algorithms, typically with at least some component being asymmetric.”
But if the ransomware component is a ruse — a distraction — then it doesn’t have to be entirely effective.
Indeed, Stokes opined that EvilQuest, as ransomware, “fails pretty much on any measure of success,” but as a complete malware, it is “one of the more complex threats to be seen so far targeting the Mac platform.”
Other clues that EvilQuest’s true end game was not malicious encryption: the ransom note only asks for a paltry sum of $50, there was no attacker email address to contact for extortion payment purposes, and the malicious actors provided the same Bitcoin wallet address to every victim, which would make it impossible for the adversaries to see who paid and who didn’t.
One additional distinct characteristic of EvilQuest — noted by Patrick Wardle, founder of Objective-See — is that it fits the definition of a true virus, in that it can replicate itself by inserting code into and modifying executables or apps on an infected machine, in automated fashion. Malwarebytes noted that this is “something that has not been seen on Macs since the change from System 9 to Mac OS X 10.0.”
“We definitely believe that the malware is still a work in progress, as there are two distinct variants with minor differences,” said Reed. “We won’t be surprised to see this continue to be developed, although this early detection may also cause a setback for the attacker.”
Knowing which Apps or Processes are running on your Mac is important, because some of these Apps could be slowing down your Mac. You will find below 4 different ways to show All the Running Apps and Processes on your Mac.
Why to See All Running Apps and Processes on Mac
In case you are coming from a Windows computer, you must be used to opening the Task Manager on your Windows computer, in order to take a look at all the running apps and processes on your computer.
In the case of a Mac, there are multiple ways to see all the Running Apps and Programs, ranging from the simple option of using the Dock to using the Terminal command.
In general, the purpose of taking a look at All the Running Apps and Programs on your Mac is to get an idea of which programs are actively running on your Mac, what resources they are using and also to rule out the possibility of any unnecessary programs running in the background and using up resources on your computer.
Show All Running Apps and Processes On Mac Using the Activity Monitor on Mac
Activity Monitor can be described as the Mac equivalent of a Task Manager in a Windows computer. The Activity Monitor provides a very good view of the App and processes running on your Mac and the amount of resources being uses by these Apps and Processes.
1. Click on the Finder icon located in the left corner of the Dock (See image below)
2. On the next screen, click on Applications in the left sidebar menu and then click on the Utilities folder.
Kodak create home software mac. 3. In the Utilities folder, click on Activity Monitor which should be the first item in Utilities Folder (See image below)
4. Once Activity Monitor opens, you will be able see a list of All the Processes or Applications currently running on your Mac (See image below)
As you can see in the above image, there are 5 different tabs in the Activity Monitor -> CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk and Network.
Clicking on each tab will show you more details, for example, clicking on the Memory Tab will show you how much memory each process is using. Similarly, clicking on the CPU tab will show you the amount of CPU being used by each of these Apps and Processes running on your Mac.
5. To view more info about a specific Process or Application, simply click on the Application/Process and then click on the i icon button located at the top left Corner of the screen (See image below).
6. To force quit an application or process through Activity Monitor, simply click on the application you would like to force quit and then click on the x button, located at the top left side of your screen (See image below)
Show All Running Apps On Mac Using Force Quit Applications Manager
Another method to check all the Running apps and programs on your Mac is through the Force Quit applications manager on Mac.
1. Click on the Apple icon in the top menu bar of your Mac and then click on Force Quit Application in the drop-down menu (See image below).
2. This will open the Force Quit Applications manager which will show you all running apps on your Mac
3. To force quit one of these applications, simply click on the application from the list and click on the Force Quit button.
Show Running Apps and Processes On Mac using the Terminal Command
The Terminal also shows you a detailed view of which applications and processes are running on your Mac, along with the percentage of CPU used by each of these applications/processes.
1. To open Terminal on your Mac, do a spotlight search for the Terminal by pressing the Command + Space keys on your Mac keyboard and searching for Terminal in Spotlight Search. (See image below)
2. Next double click on the Terminal option or press the enter key on your Mac’s keyboard to open up Terminal
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3. In the terminal type in top –o cpu and press the enter key on your keyboard
This will show you a list of all running apps and processes with the apps consuming the most CPU at the top of the list.
4. To reorganize this list close the Terminal and reopen it. Once Terminal reopens type in top –o rsize and press the enter key on your keyboard.
Now applications or processes which are using the most memory will be listed at the top of the list and the application or processes using the least memory will be listed at the bottom of the list.
Show Running Apps Through Dock
The easiest way to view running apps on your Mac is by simply taking a look at your dock.
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All running applications will have a black dot underneath the applications icon (See image below)
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While this method is easy to follow, it sometimes will not show you all apps running in the background and does not even show you which processes are running in the background.
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This method also does not give you much detail, like how much memory each application is using or how much CPU is being used by each application.