Hackers cash in on farmers’ protests

Hackers don’t miss a chance to lure people into cyber frauds. This time they seem to have found an opportunity in farmers’ protests.

Cyber security experts found a new ransomware called Sarbloh, which is being distributed through malicious documents.

In order to attract the attention of the victims, the malicious mails and attachments contain a political message supporting the farmer community.

“Threat actors through this new attack technique are infecting user devices by encrypting their files without asking for a ransom, which is usually the key objective of any ransomware,” Himanshu Dubey, Director of Quick Heal Security Labs, said.

After infecting the systems, the hackers are found to be using military-grade encryption on system files to turn them useless, conveying a message that “no data will be recovered until the demands of the farmers are met”.

“Threat actors have constantly demonstrated innovation through their evolving attack strategies. The latest Sarbloh ransomware that appears to be working in the favour of farmers without any monetary grains is a testimony to their growing attack abilities,” Himanshu Dubey said.

He advised the users not to download any attachment that comes from unknown emails and messages. He also asked people to avoid clicking on unverified links and those found in spam email. “Besides, practice backing up the data so that it can be recovered in case of compromise, and keep updating antivirus solutions to stay protected,” he said.

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