Recovery of files affected by Hive Ransomware

Preventing a Hive ransomware attack requires a comprehensive cybersecurity framework, but that’s not all, let’s list some important points that you need to pay attention to.

• Organisation – Having documentation of the IT park helps a lot in the prevention process, in addition to the inventory of networks and computers. Develop rules so that new employees have clear company policy on the installation and use of programmes on computers.
• Strong Passwords – Passwords should be strong, containing more than 8 digits, including special ones. And do not use a single password for multiple credentials.
• Security Solutions – Have a good antivirus installed, keep all programmes up to date, especially the operating system. Besides the antivirus solution, you need a Firewall and endpoints. They will make sure that the system stays protected.
• Beware of suspicious emails – One of the most used means for invasion used by hacker groups are spam email campaigns, so it is vital to create a security and awareness policy for employees not to download attached files sent by unknown emails.
• Efficient backup policies – Backups are essential for any eventual incident, but even with this essential role many companies neglect it or create a backup schedule that is not effective. We have already assisted several clients that not only the data was encrypted, but also the backups. It is not recommended to keep online backups only. The best backup structure is 3x2x1, which is 3 backups, 2 online and 1 offline, in addition to creating a consistent routine of updating the backups.
• Beware of unofficial programmes – There are numerous paid programmes that are made available for free on the Internet, such as Windows, Office and many others. They may appear to be free at first, but in the future can be used as a gateway for future hacker attacks. Even if official programmes demand financial resources, they are a good investment and are also secure.

Hackers use a variety of methods to infiltrate a victim’s system, including downloading infected files, malicious links, RDP attacks, phishing, and spam emails. Their goal is to gain access to the system undetected, and to achieve this, the Hive ransomware is often disguised to evade detection by security systems.

When it comes to tactics that rely on user action, hackers employ phishing techniques to trick unsuspecting victims into downloading Hive ransomware onto their systems without realising it.

Yes, there are several behaviours of your server that you can analyse to determine if you are being attacked by Hive ransomware:

1. High resource usage: If your server’s processing, memory, and disk usage are significantly higher than usual, it could indicate that ransomware is actively encrypting files or exfiltrating data.
2. Changes in file extensions: Hive Ransomware often renames files with a new extension, such as .encrypted or .locked. If you notice such changes, it may be a sign that your server has been attacked.
3. Unusual network traffic: Hive Ransomware needs to communicate with its command and control (C&C) server to receive instructions and report back on its progress. Analysing network traffic for unusual connections or data transfers can help you identify potential ransomware activity.
4. Suspicious login attempts: Hive Ransomware attackers often gain access to a server through phishing emails or brute force attacks on weak passwords. Monitoring your server’s login attempts and blocking suspicious activity can help prevent ransomware attacks.
5. Unusual system modifications: Hive Ransomware may make modifications to your server’s operating system or file system to carry out its attack. Keep an eye out for any changes to system files, registry entries, or other critical components.

By analysing these behaviours, you can potentially detect and prevent a Hive ransomware attack on your server. It’s important to stay vigilant and implement security measures to protect against ransomware and other cyber threats.

The data will remain encrypted, it will be necessary for the affected machine to be formatted. By doing so all stored data will be lost.

But in cases where the Hive  group uses the double extortion tactic of copying and extracting all files and encrypting the original data, the stolen files will be posted on the group’s website or Dark Web forums and all original data will remain encrypted on the affected device, requiring the device to be formatted.