Hades
Intelligence Profile
According to PCrisk, Hades Locker is an updated version of WildFire Locker ransomware that infiltrates systems and encrypts a variety of data types using AES encryption. Hades Locker appends the names of encrypted files with the ".~HL[5_random_characters] (first 5 characters of encryption password)" extension.
Threat Analysis
Hades is a malware family tracked by threat intelligence researchers and catalogued in the Malpedia dataset. It represents a distinct malicious software lineage with identifiable code characteristics, behaviors, and victimology.
Financially motivated threat actors like Hades prioritize monetary gain through methods such as ransomware deployment, banking trojans, cryptocurrency theft, BEC scams, or credential harvesting for resale on underground markets.
With high sophistication, Hades is capable of targeted intrusions using adapted commodity tools alongside custom implants, maintaining operational security and evading standard detection mechanisms.