⚠️ Overview

Roopirs is a ransomware family first discovered by MalwareHunterTeam in August 2019, identified as a variant of the STOP/DJVU malware lineage; it is operated by a financially motivated threat group likely based in Eastern Europe, and it encrypts user files with a strong AES-256 algorithm appending the .roopirs extension while dropping a ransom note named _readme.txt demanding payment in Bitcoin.

🔧 Technical Capabilities

Roopirs propagates primarily through illegitimate software downloads, cracked applications, and keygens distributed on torrent sites and malicious ad campaigns; it uses a custom C2 infrastructure hosted on compromised WordPress sites and legitimate cloud services to exfiltrate victim data and download the encryption payload. Persistence is achieved via registry Run keys and scheduled tasks, while evasion techniques include obfuscation of its binary with UPX packing and checking for virtual machine environments to avoid analysis. The ransomware communicates over HTTP to retrieve a unique victim ID and the decryption key, encrypting files with a combination of hardcoded and online keys; if online key retrieval fails, it uses a static offline key, making decryption partially feasible for victims without internet access.

📜 History & Notable Incidents

Roopirs emerged in mid-2019 as part of the widespread STOP/DJVU ransomware campaign that infected hundreds of thousands of systems globally, with a notable surge in detections reported by BleepingComputer and the Emsisoft ransomware tracker in late 2019. No specific high-profile corporate victims have been publicly named, but the family contributed to the overall impact of STOP/DJVU, which by 2020 had caused an estimated millions of dollars in losses across consumer and small-business sectors. No CVEs are directly associated with Roopirs because it relies on social engineering rather than vulnerability exploitation, and no law enforcement actions have been taken specifically against its operators.

🔍 Detection Indicators

Known file hashes for Roopirs samples include SHA256: e3c2f8a1b5d4c7e9f0a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4 (example, verify at VirusTotal). Behavioral indicators include creation of _readme.txt files in each encrypted directory, spikes in file modification operations, and network connections to IPs associated with malicious WordPress sites; registry persistence is set under HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun with a key named "roopirs" pointing to the payload executable.

☠️ Risk & Impact

The primary damage caused by Roopirs is permanent file encryption, leading to data loss or costly ransom payments; victims commonly lose personal documents, photos, and business databases, with the attacker demanding $490–$980 in Bitcoin. The targeted sectors are overwhelmingly individual consumers and small-to-medium businesses, particularly in the United States, Europe, and Australia, as reported by the Emsisoft Q3 2019 ransomware report.

🛡️ Mitigation

Mitigation includes maintaining offline backups, avoiding cracked software downloads, and using comprehensive endpoint protection solutions that detect STOP/DJVU behaviors via YARA rules and dynamic analysis; Microsoft Defender and third-party tools like Malwarebytes can block Roopirs droppers, and victims with offline encryption keys may use the Emsisoft Decryptor tool for file recovery. No specific patches are required as the malware exploits user behavior rather than system vulnerabilities.

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