There are times, however, where the encryption is statically compiled into the malware or even a custom written encryption algorithm is used. This was the case for the previous ShiOne walkthrough. If this is the case, it can be quite simple to identify the algorithm. A lot of times, it’s as simple as looking at the API calls. Locating encryption algorithmsīefore you can even attempt to find the weakness, you must first know what was the encryption algorithm being used. These weaknesses can be anything from weak encryption algorithms and weak key generators to server-side vulnerabilities and leaked keys. What’s difficult is being able to identify and analyze the methods a programmer used for encryption and look for any weaknesses to exploit. There are a number of things that can go wrong for someone who is implementing encryption. That flaw is often a result of an error in implementation.

In order for something as powerful as encryption to break, there needs to be some kind of secret flaw. Continuing on in our Encryption 101 series, where we gave a malware analyst’s primer on encryption and demonstrated encryption techniques using ShiOne ransomware, we now look at what it takes to break an encryption.

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