Red Specter SPECTER CRYPT

AI-Assisted Ransomware Simulation Engine — 8 subsystems covering the complete ransomware kill chain with AES-256-CBC encryption, LLM-API covert C2, and impacket lateral movement.

Overview

Red Specter SPECTER CRYPT is an AI-assisted ransomware simulation engine. It operationalises the complete ransomware kill chain in a controlled, authorised environment — from initial target reconnaissance through shadow copy destruction, data exfiltration, covert LLM-API command-and-control, AI-generated ransom note production, AES-256-CBC file encryption with key escrow, and impacket-driven lateral movement.

SPECTER CRYPT is NIGHTFALL Tool 82. It provides 8 subsystems under a single CLI (specter-crypt), two covert C2 channels (base64_json prompt embedding and whitespace steganography), and Ed25519-signed CryptReports with full MITRE ATT&CK and ATLAS TTP mapping. Real AES-256-CBC encryption with key escrow ensures no files are permanently lost during authorised red-team exercises.

Security teams use SPECTER CRYPT to validate ransomware detection rules, test incident response playbooks, generate realistic artefacts for IR exercises, and verify that network segmentation prevents lateral movement. Every simulation produces a signed evidence chain suitable for post-engagement reporting.

The 8 Subsystems

Subsystem Details

Full Pipeline Mode

One command runs all 8 subsystems in sequence — recon through report — producing a signed CryptReport.

CLI Options

Individual Subsystem Commands

Covert C2 Engine

base64_json Channel

Operator instructions are serialised as a JSON object and base64-encoded. The encoded payload is embedded in the user turn of an LLM API call as a comment or annotation. The model response carries the encoded acknowledgement back. The client base64-decodes the response to extract the C2 command confirmation.

• Traffic is indistinguishable from normal LLM API usage to network monitors
• Payload size constrained by model context window (default: 512-token payload budget)
• PCAP capture records full HTTP request/response for IR training use
• Supports multi-turn C2 sessions (--turns flag, default: 3)

whitespace_stego Channel

A binary beacon signal is encoded as a sequence of Unicode zero-width characters (U+200B = 0, U+200C = 1). The encoded signal is injected into normal cover text at word boundaries. The receiver strips visible characters and decodes the zero-width sequence back to the original beacon. Signal ratio measures the proportion of bits successfully recovered.

• Cover text appears entirely normal to human readers and content filters
• Detectable only via explicit Unicode normalisation or character-level analysis
• 128–256 token cover text per beacon by default (--cover-tokens flag)
• Signal ratio target: >0.90 (ratio below 0.70 triggers WARN in report)

Encryption Engine

SPECTER CRYPT uses AES-256-CBC — the same cipher family used by major ransomware campaigns. All encryption is reversible via the key escrow mechanism.

Encryption Process

• Master key: 256-bit random key generated per engagement (os.urandom(32))
• Per-file IV: 128-bit random IV generated per file (os.urandom(16))
• Padding: PKCS7 to align plaintext to 16-byte AES block boundary
• Output: IV prepended to ciphertext, saved as {original_filename}.crypt
• Original file overwritten with encrypted version
• Ransom note dropped to each affected directory as ransom.txt

Key Escrow

• Master key saved to crypt_output/escrow.key.enc at encryption start
• Escrow format: RSA-wrapped (--escrow-rsa) or passphrase-derived KDF (default)
• Recovery: specter-crypt decrypt --escrow crypt_output/escrow.key.enc --target ./testenv/
• Decrypt reads IV from file header, decrypts with master key, restores original filename
• Verification: SHA-256 of decrypted file compared against pre-encryption hash in audit log

Propagation — impacket

psexec Method

Uses impacket's psexec implementation to deploy a service-based remote execution payload to authorised target hosts over SMB. Requires SMB access and valid credentials in the scope file.

pass_the_hash Method

Uses NTLM hash-based authentication — no plaintext password required. Hash is supplied in the credentials file in LM:NT format. Demonstrates that password resets alone are insufficient if hashes remain valid.

Scope File Format

Report Output

SPECTER CRYPT generates a signed CryptReport (SCR) aggregating all subsystem findings.

Report Schema

Requirements

Standards Coverage

MITRE ATT&CK TTPs

• T1486 — Data Encrypted for Impact (ENCRYPT subsystem)
• T1490 — Inhibit System Recovery (SHADOW — VSS destruction)
• T1041 — Exfiltration Over C2 Channel (EXFIL + C2 combined)
• T1570 — Lateral Tool Transfer (PROPAGATE psexec deployment)
• T1550.002 — Pass the Hash (PROPAGATE pth method)
• T1566 — Phishing / Social Engineering (RANSOM note delivery)

MITRE ATLAS TTPs

• AML.T0051 — LLM Prompt Injection (C2 base64_json channel embedding)
• AML.T0043 — Craft Adversarial Data (AI ransom note generation)
• AML.T0056 — LLM Jailbreak (C2 channel evasion techniques)
• AML.T0048 — External Harms (double extortion victim impact)
• AML.T0040 — Supply Chain Compromise (lateral propagation vector)

OWASP LLM Top 10

• LLM01 — Prompt Injection (C2 base64_json channel)
• LLM02 — Insecure Output Handling (AI-generated ransom note content)
• LLM06 — Excessive Agency (autonomous propagation actions)
• LLM08 — Vector & Embedding Weaknesses (whitespace stego channel)
• LLM09 — Misinformation (AI-generated extortion and social engineering)

UNLEASHED

SPECTER CRYPT uses the standard NIGHTFALL three-tier UNLEASHED gate enforced by Ed25519 signature verification.

• OPEN — RECON, REPORT. No flags required. No key required.
• INJECT — SHADOW, EXFIL, C2, RANSOM. Requires --override and valid UNLEASHED key in SPECTER_PRIVATE_KEY environment variable.
• DESTROY — ENCRYPT, PROPAGATE. Requires --override --confirm-destroy and UNLEASHED key. Dual-sign enforced: both flags must be present and key must verify.

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