Sifreli Ransomware

Posted: August 2, 2017

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	2,059

First Seen:	August 2, 2017
Last Seen:	May 29, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Sifreli Ransomware is a Turkey-based Trojan that attacks the files of your PC with an encryption routine meant to block them from opening. Having a backup, especially a remotely stored one, can reduce any possible harm from a Sifreli Ransomware infection, and malware experts recommend against using any con artist-endorsed recovery services. Standard anti-malware products may prevent these attacks by blocking and deleting the Sifreli Ransomware initially or remove it afterward to stop any future data loss.

Seemingly Dead Trojans Rising from Their Graves

Like a fruit fly, a Trojan's campaign often has a brief lifespan before its author replaces it with a 'descendant.' While variants using shared code may continue forwards, it's not common for extremely old Trojans to remain active and intact in the same format, years later. Nevertheless, this does appear to be true of the Sifreli Ransomware, a Turkish Trojan that malware experts date back to 2014.

The Sifreli Ransomware's symptoms solely use Turkish to communicate with any victims and portray a picture of file-ransoming behavior similar to that of Hidden Tear or the Globe Ransomware. The Trojan's installation includes transferring statistics on the attack to a Command & Control server (which is now closed) and creating an ID for the victim to use later. It also searches accessible locations, such as your Downloads folder, for documents and other media to block with encryption.

After running any appropriate data through its encryption cipher and adding '.sifreli' (which translates to 'encrypted') to their names, the Sifreli Ransomware creates a pop-up ransom message. The Turkish text gives the victims the ID, an e-mail address for entering into ransom negotiations for their files, and, most interestingly, claims to have committed spyware-related attacks that have collected 'all the information about your company.' Malware analysts can find no features in the Sifreli Ransomware's payload to imply that this last statement is anything other than a bluff.

Putting the Past Back in Its Rightful Place

The Sifreli Ransomware's surprising age isn't a direct form of protection from the majority of its functions. Although its networking features are non-functional, due to issues with the remote Web infrastructure, the Trojan still displays its pop-ups and enciphers the user's media. Recently renewed distribution of the Sifreli Ransomware also could be an indication that its author or another threat actor plans to update it, although it also may be a matter of happenstance.

Until more details are verifiable, malware experts encourage monitoring infection vectors that are common to Trojans of the same type: email attachments, disguised torrents, fake software updates, and websites using corrupted scripts. The Sifreli Ransomware can damage data on different PCs, regardless of their language settings, and, based on its age, the instructions given in its ransoming message are unlikely to be still accurate. Use professional anti-malware programs for deleting the Sifreli Ransomware in any circumstances, and backups for keeping your media out of an extortion-vulnerable position.

Even though the Trojan industry moves at a fast pace, sometimes, even the oldest programs can turn into new security problems. When that happens, Web surfers may find themselves experiencing hostage situations from the most unexpected of sources, like a patch that turns into a three-year-old Turkish Trojan: the Sifreli Ransomware.

Sifreli Ransomware

Threat Metric

Seemingly Dead Trojans Rising from Their Graves

Putting the Past Back in Its Rightful Place

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