SUKA Ransomware

The SUKA Ransomware is a file-locking Trojan that's part of a Ransomware-as-a-Service family, the Dharma Ransomware (or Crysis Ransomware). The SUKA Ransomware blocks documents, images, and similar media by securely encrypting the files, demanding a ransom for restoring them. Users should have backups on secondary storage or PCs for recovering any lost content and let their usual anti-malware solutions delete the SUKA Ransomware.

A Trojan Cries about Collaborators While Demanding Collaboration

Irony and insults may make appearances in Trojans' ransom notes, but rarely do they come together with such synergy as the SUKA Ransomware variant of the Dharma Ransomware. This Windows program, an update of the well-known Ransomware-as-a-Service available for any interested threat actors, uses Russian slang for added insult while also attacking the victim in more technical ways. Most victims will be distracted minimally by the harsh language since the SUKA Ransomware also causes far worse effects on their files.

Parred down to its essential features, the SUKA Ransomware includes the same payload as close relatives like the Dex Ransomware, the Dr Ransomware, the 2048 Ransomware or the World Ransomware. The SUKA Ransomware blocks files through AES encryption, secure it with an RSA key, and changes their names with a custom extension, an ID and a campaign-specific e-mail. It also creates the same HTA pop-up for ransom notes as its counterparts, easily identifiable by the skull and crossbones logo.

The choice of extension for the SUKA Ransomware is a Russian pejorative analogous to the English 'bitch,' but with strong connotations of unwanted collaboration with authority figures, akin to a snitch. Since criminals require cooperation from their victims for the business arrangement of 'selling' their file-unlocking decryptors, this choice seems hypocritical. More meaningfully, it also points to the SUKA Ransomware's campaign as possibly circulating through exploits relevant to Russian Web surfers, such as Russia-specific torrents or freeware sites.

Taking the Harm Out of Insulting Programming

Although some families of file-locker Trojans will auto-terminate in environments that use 'unwanted' language settings, no such feature is part of the long-running Dharma Ransomware RaaS. Malware experts recommend most Windows users act as if their PCs are vulnerable to attacks by the SUKA Ransomware and the hundreds of other Trojans in its family. Well-maintained and secure backups should be the foundation of any defense against encryption-based threats, which can block or delete local files en masse and indiscriminately.

Users also should stay careful around possible infection vectors while they browse the Web. Although no attacks specific to the SUKA Ransomware's campaign are identifiable, most attackers require significant mistakes from their victims before installing a Trojan like the SUKA Ransomware. These missteps might include:

• Using weak passwords
• Not installing security patches
• Leaving features like Flash or JavaScript indiscriminately active
• Downloading illegal files
• Carelessly opening e-mail links or attachments

Users can stop most, if not all, attacks by limiting risky Web-surfing behavior. For last-minute protection or disinfection, reliable Windows anti-malware programs should remove the SUKA Ransomware and every other variant of the Dharma Ransomware without trouble.

The SUKA Ransomware's aggressive language might become an illuminating point about its campaign but also can be a false trail. Whether it's the former or the latter, anything it does isn't particularly problematic for users with an appropriate backup and security-oriented mindset.