Many Initial Access Brokers (IABs) are happy to deploy pen testing tools (i.e. Having to move your leak site and command and control (C2) servers every day would make life a lot harder for ransomware operators since they would have to be prepared for the fact that their sites, compromised or otherwise, would be taken out of their control. The Dark Web and bulletproof hosting are helpful for criminals in that they allow them to keep websites and other necessary services up for longer. As an example, one of the most notorious ransomware gangs (Lockbit) had their ransomware builder leaked online by a disgruntled developer.
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Stolen or leaked code has made it possible for relative beginners to create their own ransomware. The use of asymmetrical encryption allows encryption routines to do their work without leaving a decryption key behind on the affected system. Errors that lead to ransomware variants that could be decrypted without paying for the key are become more rare because the criminals learn from each other’s mistakes and a lot of code has been made publicly available. Strong encryption routines are relatively resource heavy (a 1989 machine would definitely struggle) but modern machines have hardly any problem with it. More powerful computers means stronger encryption The use of cryptocurrency allows cybercriminals to transfer their funds to a place where they feel they can safely use it. Ransom payments in pseudo-anonymous cryptocurrencies does allow the tracking of payments through the blockchain, but the real identity of the receiver can be hidden until the money is used to make payments or exchanged in fiat currency. So modern day ransomware uses an exclusion list to avoid encrypting files that are essential for the system’s operations. The criminals quickly learned that it is beneficial if the victim is still able to use their device to the extent that they can read the instructions and pay the ransom.
But what really requires a high speed internet connection is the large amounts of data that ransomware gangs steal from affected networks to add extra leverage to their ransom demands.
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These days, popular delivery methods for ransomware are malspam, malvertising, and vulnerabilities in popular software or networking devices. Here are a few ways: No more snail mail and floppy disks Nowadays things have changed quite a bit. Not many victims did this, and the symmetric encryption was relatively easy to crack. The ransom note instructed the victim to mail at least $189 to a PO Box in Panama. On the infected system it added itself to autoexec.bat and waited for 90 reboots before starting an encryption routine of all the files on the C: drive, hid directories, and displayed a ransom note. It reached about 20,000 people and medical institutions. The AIDS Trojan was sent by snail mail on a floppy disk to participants of a WHO conference about HIV. However, while it encrypted file(name)s and asked for a ransom, it was far from effective. If we define ransomware as malware that encrypts files to extort the owner of the system, then the first malware that could be classified as ransomware is the 1989 AIDS Trojan. Today's ransomware is the scourge of many organizations.
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