Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Malware & Threats

French Authorities Release Free Decryptor for PyLocky Ransomware

The French Ministry of Interior has released a free decryption tool for the PyLocky ransomware to help victims recover their data. 

The French Ministry of Interior has released a free decryption tool for the PyLocky ransomware to help victims recover their data. 

Initially spotted in attacks in July and August last year, the malware was posing as the infamous Locky ransomware that dominated the threat scene in 2016. Written in Python, the malware has been mainly active in Europe, and particularly in France. 

Once installed on a victim’s machine, the threat targets around 150 file types for encryption, including image, video, document, sound, program, game, database, and archive files, among others. The malware also gathers system information and features anti-sandbox capabilities. 

Usually spreading via spam emails, the ransomware has been actively targeting both businesses and home users, the French authorities reveal. 

Now, victims of the ransomware can recover their files for free, courtesy of the newly released tool, now available on France’s national platform Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr. 

The decryptor was designed to recover files encrypted with versions 1 (extension .lockedfile or .lockymap) and version 2 (extension .locky) of PyLocky. Files encrypted with other iterations of the malware cannot be recovered using this tool. 

The program can be used on machines running Windows 7 or higher and requires Java JRE (Java Runtime Environment) version 8.

“Please note that the decryption of the files doesn’t clean the infected computer of the ransomware,” the French Ministry of Interior points out. 

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Written By

Ionut Arghire is an international correspondent for SecurityWeek.

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Understand how to go beyond effectively communicating new security strategies and recommendations.

Register

Join us for an in depth exploration of the critical nature of software and vendor supply chain security issues with a focus on understanding how attacks against identity infrastructure come with major cascading effects.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cybercrime

The changing nature of what we still generally call ransomware will continue through 2023, driven by three primary conditions.

Cybercrime

A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the...

Malware & Threats

The NSA and FBI warn that a Chinese state-sponsored APT called BlackTech is hacking into network edge devices and using firmware implants to silently...

Application Security

Virtualization technology giant VMware on Tuesday shipped urgent updates to fix a trio of security problems in multiple software products, including a virtual machine...

Malware & Threats

Unpatched and unprotected VMware ESXi servers worldwide have been targeted in a ransomware attack exploiting a vulnerability patched in 2021.

Cyberwarfare

An engineer recruited by intelligence services reportedly used a water pump to deliver Stuxnet, which reportedly cost $1-2 billion to develop.

Malware & Threats

Apple’s cat-and-mouse struggles with zero-day exploits on its flagship iOS platform is showing no signs of slowing down.

Cybercrime

No one combatting cybercrime knows everything, but everyone in the battle has some intelligence to contribute to the larger knowledge base.