In the relatively short history of ransomware crime, very few of the professional criminals behind these attacks have ever been brought to justice. So many crimes, so few arrests, and there’s no mystery as to why: Ransomware criminals typically operate from countries with weak or no laws against what they do, and sometimes (stand up, […]

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said philosopher George Santayana in one of the most widely quoted aphorisms of the 20th century. According to a report from security company Sophos covering global customer data from the first half of 2023, a similar principle is applicable in many cyberattacks, especially those […]

On Nov. 7, the ALPHV ransomware group targeted the network of financial services company MeridianLink and, according to the group, stole files. No encryption was involved but, the group claims, MeridianLink was aware that the attack had happened. A communication took place between the attackers and the company, but no ransom was paid. So far, […]

Who are the people the ransomware groups most rely on for their business model? Most commentators fall back on the conventional view that the ransomware industry’s main protagonists are the clever but amoral hacker masterminds looking to make big bucks. But occasionally we get a glimpse that what’s inside the criminality’s black box might be […]

Imagine a world where ransomware victims across the globe simply refused to pay their attackers. In theory, the attackers would quickly realize their extortion business model no longer made any sense. As has been widely observed, victims who pay attackers simply fuel the next wave of ransomware. It follows from this that as long as […]