Ransomware Research

Pay-or-Lost Ransomware

Pay-or-Lost is a malicious ransomware strain that encrypts victim files and demands ransom payment for decryption. First observed in the wild on September 1, 2019, this ransomware has been actively targeting systems worldwide.

Quick Facts

Ransomware Family
Pay-or-Lost
First Seen
September 1, 2019

How Pay-or-Lost Ransomware Works

File Encryption Patterns

Pay-or-Lost modifies encrypted files using specific patterns to mark them as encrypted:

File extensions added after encryption:

..kkk

Ransom Note and Payment Demands

After encrypting files, Pay-or-Lost displays ransom notes demanding payment for file recovery:

message

Ransom message:

notes/note.txt

Note locations:

OnceOnCompletion
filehythty

Ransom message:

notes/hythty

Note locations:

Desktop

Technical Indicators

Associated Executable Files

The following executable files are associated with Pay-or-Lost ransomware:

  • $safeprojectname$.exe
  • Panduan_Kemaskini.doc

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About This Analysis

This Pay-or-Lost ransomware analysis is part of Elastio's comprehensive ransomware detection database. Elastio provides advanced ransomware protection and recovery solutions, helping organizations defend against and recover from ransomware attacks like Pay-or-Lost.

Last updated: October 30, 2025

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