{"id":3588,"date":"2021-11-01T18:08:30","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T12:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/?p=3588"},"modified":"2021-11-01T18:08:32","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T12:38:32","slug":"chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The Chaos Ransomware group encrypts gamers\u2019 Windows devices through fake Minecraft alt lists advertised on gaming forums. Minecraft is a massively well-known sandbox video game presently played by over 140 million people, and according to Nintendo sales numbers, it is a top-seller title in Japan.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concealed as an \u2018Alt list\u2019 text file<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
According to security investigators, a currently discovered variant of the Chaos ransomware is being conditionally distributed in Japan, encoding the files of Minecraft players and dropping ransom notes.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The appeal utilized by the threat actors are \u2018alt list\u2019 text files that apparently contain hijack Minecraft account passwords, but in reality, is Chaos ransomware executable. Minecraft players who want to troll or grief other players without any risk of their accounts being banned will sometimes use \u2018alt\u2019 lists to find hijack accounts that they can use for bannable offenses.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to their popularity, alt lists are always in demand and are commonly shared for free or through automated account generators that supply the community with “spare” accounts.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The Chaos Ransomware<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When encrypting victims, the Chaos ransomware will append four random characters or digits as the extension to encrypted files. The ransomware will also drop a ransom note named ‘ReadMe.txt,’ where the threat actors demand 2,000 yen (~$17.56) in pre-paid cards.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A destructive infection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This particular variant of the Chaos Ransomware is configured to search the infected systems for different file types smaller than 2\u039c\u0392 and encrypts them. However, if the file is larger than 2MB is will inject random bytes into the files, making them unrecoverable even if a ransom is paid.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to the destructive nature of the attack, those who pay the ransom can only recover smaller files.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reason for this functionality is unclear, and it could be caused by poor coding, incorrect configuration, or damaging gamers’ files purposely. In this particular campaign, the threat actors are promoting text files to create a false sense of security while swapping them out in the end with executables.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Users should be suspicious of and not execute any files they download from the Internet unless they trust the site and have scanned it with a tool like VirusTotal.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Chaos Ransomware group encrypts gamers\u2019 Windows devices through fake Minecraft alt lists advertised on gaming forums. Minecraft is a massively well-known sandbox video game presently played by over 140 million people, and according to Nintendo sales numbers, it is a top-seller title in Japan. Concealed as an \u2018Alt list\u2019 text file According to security […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists - Xiarch Solutions Private Limited<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists - Xiarch Solutions Private Limited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Chaos Ransomware group encrypts gamers\u2019 Windows devices through fake Minecraft alt lists advertised on gaming forums. Minecraft is a massively well-known sandbox video game presently played by over 140 million people, and according to Nintendo sales numbers, it is a top-seller title in Japan. Concealed as an \u2018Alt list\u2019 text file According to security […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Xiarch Solutions Private Limited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/xiarch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-01T12:38:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-01T12:38:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chaos-Ransomware-Targets-Gamer-through-Fake-Minecraft-alt-lists-featured-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"525\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Xiarch Security\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@xiarch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@xiarch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Xiarch Security\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Xiarch Security\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/655d814a04eacce56942270cfdc5c59c\"},\"headline\":\"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-01T12:38:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-01T12:38:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/\"},\"wordCount\":366,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Vulnerabilities\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/\",\"name\":\"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists - Xiarch Solutions Private Limited\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-01T12:38:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-01T12:38:32+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Xiarch Solutions Private Limited\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Xiarch\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/xi-logo-002.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/xi-logo-002.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Xiarch\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/xiarch\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/xiarch\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/xiarch\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/655d814a04eacce56942270cfdc5c59c\",\"name\":\"Xiarch Security\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d33699ed91b76568586dc1ae278ea568?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d33699ed91b76568586dc1ae278ea568?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Xiarch Security\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/author\/vector\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists - Xiarch Solutions Private Limited","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists - Xiarch Solutions Private Limited","og_description":"The Chaos Ransomware group encrypts gamers\u2019 Windows devices through fake Minecraft alt lists advertised on gaming forums. Minecraft is a massively well-known sandbox video game presently played by over 140 million people, and according to Nintendo sales numbers, it is a top-seller title in Japan. Concealed as an \u2018Alt list\u2019 text file According to security […]","og_url":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/","og_site_name":"Xiarch Solutions Private Limited","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/xiarch\/","article_published_time":"2021-11-01T12:38:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-01T12:38:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":525,"url":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chaos-Ransomware-Targets-Gamer-through-Fake-Minecraft-alt-lists-featured-image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Xiarch Security","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@xiarch","twitter_site":"@xiarch","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Xiarch Security","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/"},"author":{"name":"Xiarch Security","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/655d814a04eacce56942270cfdc5c59c"},"headline":"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists","datePublished":"2021-11-01T12:38:30+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-01T12:38:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/"},"wordCount":366,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Vulnerabilities"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/","url":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/","name":"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists - Xiarch Solutions Private Limited","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-11-01T12:38:30+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-01T12:38:32+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/chaos-ransomware-targets-gamer-through-fake-minecraft-alt-lists\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chaos Ransomware Targets Gamer through Fake Minecraft alt lists"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/","name":"Xiarch Solutions Private Limited","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Xiarch","url":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/xi-logo-002.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/xi-logo-002.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Xiarch"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/xiarch\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/xiarch","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/xiarch"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/655d814a04eacce56942270cfdc5c59c","name":"Xiarch Security","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d33699ed91b76568586dc1ae278ea568?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d33699ed91b76568586dc1ae278ea568?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Xiarch Security"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/"],"url":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/author\/vector\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3588"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3593,"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3588\/revisions\/3593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Chaos-Ransomware-Targets-Gamer-through-Fake-Minecraft-alt-lists-image-1\"](\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chaos-Ransomware-Targets-Gamer-through-Fake-Minecraft-alt-lists-image1-1024x704.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Chaos-Ransomware-Targets-Gamer-through-Fake-Minecraft-alt-lists-image2\"](\"https:\/\/xiarch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chaos-Ransomware-Targets-Gamer-through-Fake-Minecraft-alt-lists-image2.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n