As if ransomware wasn’t fun enough (threatened GDPR violations! Yet another faux-remorseful retirement announcement! Double-dipping!) they’re decided to start a version of the three-punch combo to hasten the capitulation of their victims. Hey, these are busy criminals – time is money.
I’m not talking about a jab-cross-hook sequence. The original approach was to simply encrypt your files. The more modern approach was to exfiltrate your data first and then encrypt – if the victim didn’t pay, the criminals would threaten to sell the exfiltrated data on the dark web.
But some brave or stubborn people still wouldn’t yield. And ransomware is no longer the domain of programmers dabbling in crime. There are actual ransomware gangs now, creating ransomware applications and reselling or licensing it like you would a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise. And these folks want to work as efficiently as possible to make “their” money.
To that end, now the gang will 1) exfiltrate, 2) encrypt and 3) launch a DDOS attack on their victim’s business. Effectively the victim cannot continue to defy them – they are dead in the water via this relatively cheap and easy attack and MUST negotiate with the criminals.
It is increasingly hard to fight a successful ransomware breach, and tactics like a DDOS attack up the difficulty.
Leave a Reply