It is becoming easier and easier for would-be hackers to get in on the ever more popular money-maker, ransomware, which has proven so successful recently. With confirmed ransomware attacks on Travelex, Honda, Mitsubishi, Konica Minolta and Canon, including a long list of government institutions, universities and financial institutions in 2020 alone, we can expect the beat to go on.
Now script kiddies (a derogatory term for unskilled hackers) have more plug-and-play options when it comes to deploying ransomware, with the newest Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) from Dharma, which essentially does the hacking for the hackers. Dharma ransomware developers earn 30-40% of any ransom pay-out, with attackers typically collecting around $9,000 USD per successful attack. BleepingComputer recently published a step-by-step article on this new Dharma RaaS, also mentioning that most professional hacking outfits make it difficult for non-professional hackers to use their RaaS.
So, what is RaaS and where have we seen it deployed before? RaaS is malware designed by professional coders, designed to be launched against a target quickly and without the need to be an expert coder, hacker or cyber-criminal. A quick Google search will bring you to any number of websites which have infiltrated the Internet, offering RaaS for between $200 and $400 USD and arriving, ready to use, in 4 to 48 hours. Gone are the days when RaaS was only available in the nether regions of the dark web - and the target consumers of this new Dharma RaaS likely wouldn’t be able to find it there anyway. A search of reddit.com brings up a global smorgasbord of RaaS options for all countries, languages and skill levels. In short, we can all expect this new Dharma initiative to be a big money maker and to see more of this type of plug-and-play ransomware in the future.
With the number of ransomware attacks increasing exponentially and the hacking process getting easier, the only hope businesses have is effective protection before the event occurs. Better, faster and more agile network security is needed to combat this issue, starting with Sangfor's APT/Ransomware Protection Service coupled with Sangfor's Next Generation Firewall (aka NGAF) at its core.
Sangfor NGAF is the world's first AI-enabled and fully integrated Next Generation Firewall integrated and Web Application Firewall with an all-around protection from all threats, powered by innovations like Neural-X and Engine Zero. A truly secured, integrated and simplified firewall solution, it provides a holistic overview of the entire organizational security network, with ease of management for administration, operation & maintenance, making protection from ransomware of any kind, fast, simple and automated.
Sangfor NGAF includes integrated Sangfor Endpoint Secure, the future of endpoint protection. Working with NGAF, the Endpoint Secure Ransomware Honeypot and One-Click Kill for malicious files across the network can respond to and mitigate ransomware encryption faster than any other solution available today.
Why Sangfor?
Sangfor Technologies is an APAC-based, global leading vendor of IT infrastructure solutions specializing in Network Security and Cloud Computing. Visit us at www.sangfor.com to learn more about Sangfor’s Security solutions, and let Sangfor make your IT simpler, more secure and valuable.
