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Malspam (2016-03-17) - Dridex (122), Locky

0
Low
Published: Thu Mar 17 2016 (03/17/2016, 00:00:00 UTC)
Source: CIRCL
Vendor/Project: circl
Product: incident-classification

Description

Malspam (2016-03-17) - Dridex (122), Locky

AI-Powered Analysis

AILast updated: 07/03/2025, 04:56:37 UTC

Technical Analysis

The provided information pertains to a malspam campaign dated March 17, 2016, involving two notable malware families: Dridex and Locky. Malspam refers to malicious spam emails that deliver malware payloads to victims. Dridex is a banking Trojan primarily designed to steal banking credentials and financial information by injecting malicious code into web browsers and intercepting user input. Locky is a ransomware strain that encrypts victims' files and demands payment for decryption keys. Both malware families have been widely distributed via spam campaigns leveraging social engineering tactics such as fake invoices or delivery notifications to entice users into opening malicious attachments or links. Although the severity is marked as low and no known exploits in the wild are reported in this specific entry, the presence of these malware strains in malspam campaigns historically represents a significant threat vector. The technical details indicate a threat level of 3 (on an unspecified scale) but lack detailed indicators or affected versions. The absence of CVSS scoring and patch links suggests this entry is more of an incident classification record rather than a detailed vulnerability report. Nevertheless, Dridex and Locky remain relevant threats due to their capabilities to compromise confidentiality (credential theft), integrity (file encryption), and availability (system disruption).

Potential Impact

For European organizations, the impact of Dridex and Locky malware delivered via malspam can be substantial. Dridex infections can lead to financial losses through unauthorized transactions, data breaches involving sensitive banking and personal information, and reputational damage. Locky ransomware infections can cause operational downtime by encrypting critical business data, leading to loss of productivity and potential financial costs associated with ransom payments or recovery efforts. The widespread use of email in European enterprises and the prevalence of targeted phishing campaigns increase the risk of successful infections. Additionally, sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government are particularly vulnerable due to the sensitivity of their data and the critical nature of their operations. The low severity rating in this record may reflect the specific campaign's limited impact or detection at the time, but the underlying malware families have historically caused high-impact incidents across Europe.

Mitigation Recommendations

To mitigate threats from malspam campaigns involving Dridex and Locky, European organizations should implement multi-layered defenses beyond generic advice. Specifically: 1) Deploy advanced email filtering solutions that use machine learning and threat intelligence to detect and quarantine malicious attachments and links. 2) Enforce strict attachment handling policies, such as blocking executable files and macros by default and using sandboxing to analyze suspicious content. 3) Conduct regular, targeted user awareness training focusing on phishing recognition and safe email practices tailored to current threat trends. 4) Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools capable of identifying behavioral indicators of Dridex and Locky infections, including unusual network connections and file encryption activities. 5) Maintain up-to-date backups with offline or immutable storage to enable recovery from ransomware without paying ransom. 6) Apply network segmentation and least privilege principles to limit malware lateral movement and access to critical systems. 7) Monitor threat intelligence feeds and CIRCL advisories for emerging variants and indicators of compromise (IOCs) to update defenses promptly.

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Technical Details

Threat Level
3
Analysis
0
Original Timestamp
1458229641

Threat ID: 682acdbcbbaf20d303f0b362

Added to database: 5/19/2025, 6:20:44 AM

Last enriched: 7/3/2025, 4:56:37 AM

Last updated: 2/7/2026, 4:15:33 AM

Views: 33

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