Again a hacker attack, again a ransomware that has taken computer systems hostage. Victim of mercenary hackers an important company based in Milan: San Carlo.
An attack detected in recent days by the company's IT technicians and claimed on the dark web, which exploited the well-known Conti ransomware. It is in fact a criminal organization known to have been the protagonist of several attacks in the last year, even to the detriment of sensitive targets, such as companies providing essential services.
But also well known is the unreliability of the ransomware, which too often has not allowed the total recovery of the infected files, even after the payment of the requested ransom. One more reason to avoid paying the ransom, as well as not helping to finance these activities. According to experts' data, 400 attacks would have been carried out with this ransomware, resulting in huge gains and a focus on a new type of business that is rampant on the dark web.
Ransomware as-a-service (RaaS)
The group's system would be based on the RaaS. In this way, criminals buy on the dark web the accesses to the victim obtained and offered for sale by other groups of cyber criminals, or infrastructures ready to launch attacks. A thriving market in which it is no longer necessary to have in-depth computer knowledge but made up of improvised hackers, real criminals, looking for easy money on the net. New business models that are expanding online, with more and more supporters, as evidenced by the continuous growth of cyber attacks, especially ransomware attacks.
Ready-made codes or ready-to-use platforms to create your own malicious code in just a few clicks and with little computer knowledge: this seems to be the new frontier of the business of cyber criminals. Platforms that allow, after a simple registration, not only the creation but also the control over the spread of the ransomware and the accumulated earnings.
They are not very sophisticated or studied, but undoubtedly effective attacks, which are most often carried out thanks to phishing emails or unsecured applications. And to convince the victim to pay not only the complete loss of the files is threatened, but also the dissemination of the stolen confidential information.
Another company, the Artsana Group, whose name appeared among those claimed by the Conti group, was also the victim of a cyber attack with the same type of ransomware. In short, transforming data into money seems to be the main goal of the new mercenary hackers with ransomware that are in first place among the cyber threats of these months of 2021.
