Ransomware Research

FreeMe

FreeMe was first discovered in June 2019 in enterprise cloud environments. FreeMe is found in environments with a number of different names, including Freezing, etc. For a full list of all names, please see below.

Name

FreeMe

 

First Seen

June 2019

Targeting

Behavior of FreeMe

FreeMe is known to target specific file types. Below are all known file types that FreeMe is known to infect.

In some cases, ransomware will update the modified date, when it encrypts files. FreeMe updates the last modified date of the file it targets.

Details

Characteristics of FreeMe

Suffixes

Some ransomware will change or append a suffix to the end of the file after they are encrypted, including changing the extension of a file. Here are some of the possible suffixes that FreeMe ransomware is known to change.

Suffixes

.Freezing, .FreezedByWizard, .HelloAgain

Ransomware Notes

Not all ransomware leaves a note. However, some ransomware leaves the infected party instructions on what the user should do to get rid of the ransomware, or satisfy the ransom. This often involves transferring money, often bitcoin or another cryptocurrency to a designated wallet.

Below are the type(s) of notes, content, and typical locations where Elastio has found ransom notes from FreeMe.

Type

File Name

Location

file

.FreezedByWizard.README.TXT

RootDiscs

Executables

These are the names of the executables that contain the undetonated ransomware payload for FreeMe.

Executables

BackupDiagnostic.ps1, FreeMe.exe, out.bin

External Pages

Ransomware often links to external pages such as payment pages, telegram contacts, etc. Below are some of the URLs Elastio has found to be associated with FreeMe.

External Pages

  • mailto:freewizard9@protonmail.com

elastio-icon
Elastio Can Help You

Don’t let ransomware
take over your data.