What Is Ransomware as a Service?

Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) is a business model in which cybercriminals develop and sell ransomware to buyers known as affiliates who use it to execute ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents users from accessing their data or devices by encrypting them and locking users out until a ransom is paid. 

Typically, cybercriminals need to know some coding to develop and execute ransomware attacks. However, RaaS lowers the barrier to entry and allows anyone who lacks coding skills to buy ready-to-go ransomware and execute ransomware attacks. RaaS has increased the number of ransomware attacks on organizations.

Continue reading to learn more about ransomware as a service, how it works, the variants of ransomware packages and how to mitigate ransomware as a service attacks.

How Does Ransomware as a Service Work?

RaaS as a business model works similarly to Software as a Service (SaaS) in which software can be accessed online through a subscription-based service. 

RaaS operators use the following revenue models to sell their ransomware:

• Subscription: Affiliates pay a monthly subscription fee to access the ransomware and any services provided.
• Affiliate: Affiliates pay a monthly subscription fee to access the ransomware, but also share a small percentage of the profit after a successful attack.
• Lifetime license: Affiliates pay a one-time fee to purchase the ransomware package.
• Partnership: Operators don’t charge affiliates for the usage of their ransomware and services but take a large percentage of the profits after a successful attack.

Once ransomware operators determine a revenue model, they develop different variants of ransomware. Then, these operators peddle their ransomware to affiliates interested in deploying ransomware attacks, and the affiliates launch phishing and social engineering campaigns to spread the ransomware. Once an organization falls victim to a social engineering attack, the ransomware is installed on the organization’s system and encrypts confidential data for ransom. Once the ransom is paid, the affiliates could either give the organization back its data, sell the data on the dark web or attack the organization again.

RaaS operators can also offer additional services to affiliates, other than just their ransomware. Some offer software support to help affiliates with any technical issues. The operators may help assist their affiliates with their ransomware attacks. Others may offer encrypted data files from previous victims and sell the decryption key to affiliates.

Examples of Ransomware as a Service Packages

There are many different types of ransomware packages that RaaS groups sell to affiliates. Here are some examples of ransomware packages used to attack organizations.

BlackCat

BlackCat is one of the most sophisticated ransomware strains as it uses Rust programming language, which allows for high-performing ransomware and large memory storage. It is highly customizable and easy to individualize to each cybercriminal.

Conti

Conti is a strain of ransomware developed by the notorious RaaS group known by the same name. It is known for popularizing the double-extortion attack method which both steals and encrypts an organization’s confidential data, as opposed to just encrypting it. The ransomware then sends the victim a note threatening to leak the data to the public unless they pay the ransom. 

Darkside

Along with Conti, Darkside is one of the most infamous RaaS operators and is responsible for offering multiple variants of ransomware. The RaaS group had developed their own ransomware known as Darkside that was responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack, a ransomware attack that stole millions from an American oil pipeline company.

Dharma

First emerging in 2016, Dharma evolved from CrySis ransomware and has spread many different variants. Dharma scans for computers running Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and exploits the security vulnerabilities of RDP to install the ransomware on the devices.

Lockbit

Introduced in 2019, Lockbit claims to be one of the fastest ransomware strains due to its fast encryption and self-replication, making it difficult for organizations to detect and get rid of it before losing any data.

REvil

REvil is a type of ransomware that exploits VPNs with software that is out of date and RDP with security vulnerabilities. It follows Conti’s attack method and uses double extortion to threaten its victims for more money.

Ryuk

Ryuk is a popular ransomware variant that targets organizations within the government, academic, manufacturing, technology and healthcare industries. It is spread through Trojan malware, phishing attacks and exploit kits. Ryuk disables any backed-up data found within the compromised device, making it impossible to recover without external backups.

How To Prevent Ransomware Attacks

As more cybercriminals use RaaS to help them execute ransomware attacks, organizations are at risk of losing access to their data and exposing it on the dark web. Ransomware attacks are difficult to recover from, so you need to prevent them from ruining your organization. You can mitigate RaaS attacks by doing the following.

Keep your organization’s systems up to date

Many ransomware attacks try to exploit the security vulnerabilities found within your organization’s software and devices. You need to keep your organization’s software up to date to help prevent ransomware attacks from exploiting any security vulnerabilities. Software updates patch known security flaws and add new security features that better protect your organization. Keeping your software up to date protects your organization against newly developed ransomware variants.

Regularly back up your data

In the case you lose access to your data, either through a ransomware attack or other unfortunate circumstances, you can restore and access your data from your backup. You should regularly back up your data on external hard drives or cloud-based storage to always have access to your data and ensure you don’t lose anything.

Implement least-privilege access

Your organization should implement least-privilege access to prevent cybercriminals from accessing and encrypting your sensitive data. The principle of least privilege is a cybersecurity concept that gives users enough network access to systems and data to do their jobs, but no more. It limits the access to an organization’s network that is given to users. With least-privilege access, cybercriminals have fewer potential pathways to breach your systems and can’t move laterally throughout the network.

Follow a zero-trust security model

Zero trust is a security framework that assumes every user is compromised and needs to be verified to gain access to systems and data. Rather than giving everyone implicit access, it requires every user to verify their identity and access to an organization’s network, systems, applications and data. Assuming zero trust helps reduce your organization’s attack surface. Attack surface refers to all the possible entry points in which a cybercriminal can access a system and steal data. 

Educate your employees about cybersecurity best practices

You need to educate your employees about cybersecurity best practices. Your employees should be using strong and unique passwords to protect their accounts and make it difficult for cybercriminals to gain unauthorized access. They should also enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to better protect their accounts from unauthorized access. MFA is a security measure that requires an additional authentication step in addition to the username and password.

Your employees need to be able to recognize and avoid social engineering attacks, such as phishing. RaaS affiliates use social engineering campaigns to install ransomware on an organization’s systems. Your employees should avoid any unsolicited messages with suspicious attachments or links to prevent installing ransomware on their devices. 

Invest in cybersecurity solutions

Your organization should invest in cybersecurity solutions to protect it from cybercriminals and help you manage your organization’s security. Examples of these solutions include antivirus software, a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution and a business password manager. 

• Antivirus software: A program that monitors, detects, prevents and removes known malware from infecting your device. You need to have strong and updated antivirus software to protect your organization from ransomware attacks.
• PAM solution: A platform that helps you manage and secure accounts with access to highly sensitive data and information. It controls who has access to an organization’s network, applications, servers and devices. A PAM solution helps prevent the misuse or compromise of privileged accounts. 
• Business password manager: A tool that securely stores and manages your employee’s login credentials in an encrypted vault. A business password manager allows IT administrators full visibility and control over employee password practices, ensuring employees are protecting their accounts with strong passwords and MFA.

Protect Your Organization from Ransomware as a Service Attacks

RaaS attacks target organizations from all industries to encrypt and steal  their confidential information. You need to protect your organization from RaaS attacks by implementing least privilege access and zero trust. The best way to implement these security frameworks is with a PAM solution. 

KeeperPAM™ is a zero-trust and zero-knowledge privileged access management solution that gives organizations full visibility and control over their privileged accounts across the organization. KeeperPAM incorporates Keeper® Enterprise Password Manager (EPM), Keeper Secrets Manager® (KSM) and Keeper Connection Manager® (KCM) to protect your organization from ransomware attacks.

Request a demo of KeeperPAM to prevent RaaS attacks and protect your organization’s confidential data.