Malicious Chaos Ransomware Ransom Note and Encrypted Extension (via file_event)

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
file_event
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-06-12
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Impact
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

What it detects

This rule detects Chaos C++ ransomware writing the ransom note READ_IT.txt into the AppData folder and appending the .chaos extension to encrypted files. Creation of these artifacts indicates active encryption by the locker. The malware also drops debug logs under the temp folder.

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Pivot detection · T1486 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.