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1. Things You Should Know About Ransomware As A Service (RaaS)
The proliferationof Ransomwaremultitudesyear-over-yearandshowsnosignof stoppinganytime
soon.Its wrathhas broughtmany public/private enterprisesandSMBsto theirkneesfora massive
ransomand disruption.Besidestargetingprime industrieswithmaliciousvectors,manyransomware
actors have alsotransformeditintoa high-payingrevenuemodel byofferingitasa service.
RaaS ineasy words
Puttinginthe software asa service (SaaS) orplatformasa service’s(PaaS) shoes,ransomware asa
service (RaaS) offersaninteractivepackage.A typical RaaSservice includesawell-etchedinterface,a
dashboardto control the entire operation,aransomware vector,andoftenahelpline, userreviews,and
forums.
RaaS operatorsoffertheirservicesinthree differentbusinessmodels- timelysubscription,lifetime
license,andaffiliate program.

2. Jigsaw Ransomware as a service custom message
SubscriptionModel
The subscription-basedRaaSservice worksjustlikeanyotherSaaSor streamingservice.The operator
(often,agroupof malware authors) offersitsransomware-relatedservice foralimitedperiodin
exchange fora mentionedprice inBitCoin,Ethereum, andotherpopularcryptocurrencies.
Lifetime Licensing
Operatorsofferingalifetime licenceprovidefullyloadedransomware kitsandrequiremalicioustoolsto
execute the menace.Theseservicesare waymore expensivethantheirsubscription-based
counterparts.
Read More: Sodinokibi Ransomware And QBot Malware: The (R)Evil ConnectionExplained
The Affiliate Model
These operatorsofferaffiliateprogramsandoftenpublishadvertisementsonthe darkweb.Onthis
model,the affiliatesare oftenexperiencedwithmalware kill chainsbutsometimeshave zeroexposure.
In suchattacks, the affiliateschoose the victims,execute the operationwiththe operator’shelp, and
pay roughly20-30% of the ransom.SophisticatedRaaSservicesautomaticallycollectthe operator’scut
as soonas the victimpaysout.
Besides,manyransomware operatorspartnerwithothermalware developersandshare the money
accordingto theircontribution.
Out of these fourrevenue models,anaffiliate-basedbusinessmodel ismore prevalent.

3. How affiliatebasedRaaSWorks
Most of the RaaS modelsfollow astandardworkflow model mentionedbelow.
 The developerbuildsorrefurbishesaransomware killchainabusingaspecificsetof exploits.
 Once the affiliate getsaccess,theyupdate the payloadhostingsite withthe exploitcode.
 The affiliate wouldidentifyandobserve the victim,determine aninfectionvector,andembedit
on a spear-phishingemail.
 Affiliatesoftenbuyadditional Phishingasa Service (PaaS) tolure the targetvictimviaemails.A
typical PaaSinfusedemail bundlingmaliciouswebsites,emaillists,andmanyhackingtools.
 Once the victimclickson the maliciouslink,the target’sinternettrafficautomaticallyredirects
to the rogue website.
 The website uploadsthe ransomwarepayloadonthe victim’ssystem/network.
 Once activated,the ransomware modifiesthe system/networktoestablishitsreign.Laterit
identifiesanddestroysexistingdatabackups,encryptsthe targetfiles,anddeterminesother
targets.

4.  Once the target filesare encrypted,the RaaSdashboardsendsacustomransom note with
detailedinstructions.
 If the victimpaysthe ransom,the processwouldinvolve amoneymule toforwardthe moneyto
multiple forgedaccountstomaskthe affiliateandthe developer’sidentity.
 If the victimfailstopay,the developercouldleakthe victim’ssensitive dataondark web-based
websitestothreatenthe businessintegrity.
 Once everythinggetssorted,the affiliate sometimesdeliversthe decryptorprogramtothe
victim.
Satan ransomware as a service
InfamousRaaSfamilies
Dark weboffersaplethoraof RaaS like StamPado,RaaSBerry,FrozrLocker,DiamondFox,Sodinokibi,
Satan and more onseveral marketplaces.Andtheirprice differsaccordingtotheirlevel of
sophistication.
These groupsoftenhave hundredsof affiliatesworldwide andmake billionsof dollarseveryyear.For
instance,GandCrabaffiliatesextractedroughly$2billioninextortionpayoutfromitsvictimsinits
fifteenmonthsof existence.Before disappearinginOctober2019, GandCrab developersassertedthat
theiraverage weeklyearningswere roughly$2.5million.Thoughdisappeared,multiplemalware strains
and codingpatternshave determinedthatthe grouphasreincarnatedasSodinokibi.The RaaSservice
offersa customizedsolutiontoitsaffiliates.

5. Ryuk,Phobos,SmaugandDharma are othersignificantRaaSoperators.Smaugofferscustomized
ransomware solutionsaccordingtovictimsoperatingsystems,includingWindows,macOS,andLinux.
NotoriousRaaSoperatorRyukwhichhas victimizedmanystate andlocal governments,schools,
universities,hospitals,andotherbusinesses,offersacomplete dashboardandenhancedcustomer
supportto itsaffiliatesforbeingmore interactive anduser-friendly.
On the otherhand,Dharma, whichhasremainedactive since 2016, has takendowna seriesof
enterprisesandSMBslocatedinIndia,Russia,China,andJapanvia affiliateswithamateurknowledge.
Anotheractive RaaSPhobosgetsofferedinmultipleavatarssuchas EKingand primarilytargetsRemote
DesktopProtocol (RDP).
Adequate Safeguards
ThoughsophisticatedRaaSmostlyeyesenterprisesandgovernmentbodies, afew operatorsstill prefer
small andmediumbusinesses(SMB).
Followingare the listof safeguardswe stronglysuggesttothe enterprisesacrosssizesandthe end-
users:
 Enterprisesshouldperformassetmanagementforall the existingcomputers,servers,data,
software platforms,applications,andclientsandmaintainastrategyto allocate resources.
 Ensure disablingthe macroservice if anyof your computersstill use anolderversionof
MicrosoftOffice.
 Ensure all your data getsbackedup inan encryptedformatregularly.
 EnterprisesandSMBs shouldarrange necessarysecurityhygiene seminarsandwebinarsforall
employees.Inaddition,the awarenesscampaignshouldofferadequate knowledgeabout
identifyingsuspiciousemails,socialengineeringattacks,shadow ITpractices,andsoftware
hygiene.
 Install a robustmulti-layeredcybersecuritysolutionsuchas K7 Enterprise Security whichoffers
anti-ransomware,host-basedintrusiondetectionsystem(IDS) andintrusiondetectionsoftware,
email filter,rogue website detector,andmanymore.
 Install all the available patchesandupdatesforyourapplicationsoftware,operatingsystem,and
otherinstalledsolutions.