A new ransomware strain known as 3AM has surfaced, signaling a fresh threat in the cybersecurity landscape. Crafted in the Rust programming language, 3AM represents an entirely new malware family. It begins its attack by halting multiple services on the infected computer, subsequently encrypting files.
After encryption, 3AM attempts to delete Volume Shadow copies, making data recovery challenging. The origins of this ransomware remain unknown, and it remains unclear if the authors have connections to known cybercrime groups.
In a notable incident, 3AM was deployed by an unidentified affiliate following an unsuccessful LockBit delivery attempt. The ransom note references “3AM,” and encrypted files are appended with the extension .threeamtime.
While the specific affiliation of the malware authors remains uncertain, they were able to deploy 3AM on three machines within an organization’s network, although it was blocked on two of them. The attack leveraged Cobalt Strike for post-exploitation and privilege escalation and employed reconnaissance commands to identify other servers for lateral movement.
Despite limited evidence of this affiliate’s use of 3AM, cybersecurity experts suggest that the ransomware is gaining recognition within the cybercriminal community. Its deployment as an alternate payload by an experienced LockBit affiliate underscores its perceived credibility as a threat.
This emergence reflects the evolving landscape of ransomware, where affiliates operate increasingly independently from ransomware operators, with new families like 3AM appearing and potentially posing significant challenges to cybersecurity.
