Sarbloh Ransomware

The Sarbloh Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that can keep users' media files, such as documents, from opening by converting them into an encrypted format. The Trojan's campaign targets Indian Windows users, with a ransom note referencing current political tensions around new legislation governing the farming industry. Users avoid infections by reducing unnecessary contact with suspicious e-mail attachments, have backups for restoring their work, and let anti-malware services delete the Sarbloh Ransomware safely.

Taking a Page from the Scriptures of Digital Data Destruction

Politics and Black Hat software development, sometimes, intertwines, both in superficial and deeply-meaningful ways. Unsurprisingly, many file-locker Trojans include callbacks to politics that are particular to the regional demographic that they're targeting, such as Donald Trump's references in US-based threats. A recent, interesting example is the Sarbloh Ransomware campaign of India.

The Sarbloh Ransomware – whose name is, itself, pointing to a Sikh book of scriptures – is a Windows-based, file-locking Trojan that's a variant of the obscure KhalsaCrypt Ransomware. Attackers circulate installers via e-mail tactics that trick recipients into opening an attached document with a drive-by-download, macro exploit. The exploit installs and runs the Sarbloh Ransomware, which blocks the user's files while also adding extensions to their names.

The above is very typical for most Trojans of this kind. However, the Sarbloh Ransomware ransom note is India-specific, with angry protests against farming industry regulatory changes. There also is no apparent extortion or premium decryptor service, which makes the Sarbloh Ransomware an act of data sabotage particularly heinous for seemingly political ends.

Closing the Book on the Sarbloh Ransomware

There isn't a decryption weak point in KhalaCrypt Ransomware's encryption routine that could let users unlock and recover their work. Still, current Sarbloh Ransomware versions have a separate limitation – not deleting the Restore Points. Victims may recover from those local backups, assuming that they have one that dates to before the infection.

Since most file-locking Trojans have more foresight versus the Restore Points than the Sarbloh Ransomware, malware researchers don't recommend depending on the above limitation too often. Users can back their work up to other devices for restoring from Trojans wielding encryption or similar attacks. Users with up-to-date word-processing software also shouldn't be at much risk from the macro exploit, which requires the victim's consent before it loads.

E-mails remain rife with infection possibilities for Windows users worldwide. Users always should scan attached files for possible threats, and let security products delete the Sarbloh Ransomware and other dangers before they can harm the computer.

The Sarbloh Ransomware might be attacking files as a political statement or even as a false flag operation, such as a distraction from other crimes. Whatever its motives are, Windows users should treat it no differently from its apolitical counterparts in other parts of the world.