Kharma Ransomware

There are two main ransomware families that have been plaguing users online in 2019 – the STOP Ransomware and the Dharma RansomwareInstead of building data-locking Trojans from scratch, cyber crooks often opt to base their creations on well-established threats like the aforementioned ones. Recently, researchers stumbled upon a new copy of the Dharma Ransomware dubbed Kharma Ransomware. This ransomware threat operates like most that belong to this class of malware – it would infiltrate a system, sniff out the appropriate files, encrypt them, and blackmail the victim into paying them money to reverse the damage.

Propagation and Encryption

Most authors of ransomware rely on mass spam email campaigns, bogus variants of popular applications, torrent trackers, fake software updates, among many other methods to propagate their creations. If the Kharma Ransomware compromises your computer, it will perform a quick scan, whose goal is to determine the location of the files, which the threat was programmed to target. Once the scan is completed, the Kharma Ransomware will start the encryption process. During this step of the attack, the Kharma Ransomware will apply its encryption algorithm to all the targeted files and lock them, which will render them unusable. If you have fallen victim to the Kharma Ransomware, you would have noticed that the names of your files have been altered. This is because the Kharma Ransomware changes the extension of the affected files by adding '.id-.[teammarcy10@cock.li].kharma' where the 'VICTIM ID' is uniquely generated for each user.

The Ransom Note

The Kharma Ransomware's ransom note can be found in two files called 'FILES ENCRYPTED.ext' and 'Info.hta.' The message is rather short, and there is no mention of a specific ransom fee that would be demanded from the user. However, rest assured that the attackers will require you to pay them, regardless of the lack of mention of payment in the note. The authors of the Kharma Ransomware state that retrieving your data for free is impossible, and to get your files back, you must cooperate with them. There is an email address provided, where the victim is expected to contact them - 'teammarcy10@cock.li.'

Despite the claims of the attackers, it is unlikely that they will provide you with the decryption key you need, even if you pay them the sum required. This is why you should look into obtaining a legitimate anti-malware solution and use it to wipe off the Kharma Ransomware from your system for good.