I groups ransomware they are always looking for new techniques and methods to maximize the monetization of their criminal actions.
According to some new reports presented to the public by Entelgy Innotec Security, the latest idea of cybercriminals concerns the so-called quadruple extortion. We are talking about an aggressive extortion formula, characterized by a continuous perpetration of harassment against a company.
Ransomware is one of today’s top cyber threats DDoS attacks and the phishing. Cybercriminals then combine this type of action with various forms of extortion to obtain as much money as possible.
The phenomenon in question should not be underestimated: it is estimated that more than half of the companies attacked by ransomware accept extortion. But how far can these cybercriminal groups go? The answer lies in quadruple extortion, which is already a reality. If the triple extortion until recently it was the last frontier of these attacks, today it is no longer the case.
Rachel Pueblacyber intelligence analyst at Entelgy Innotec Security, stated how “Quadruple extortion is a technique used in ransomware cyber attacks whose goal is to maximize the expected monetization capacity of the threat actor responsible for the campaign“.
For the expert “With this new level of extortion, the goal is to ensure that the affected entity pays the ransom demanded by the attackers for the cyber attack, which is the ultimate goal of today’s ransomware authors. It is therefore not intended as a cyber attack in itself, but as an additional layer of ransomware cyber attacks“.
Quadruple ransomware extortion: the latest frontier reached by cybercriminals
The stages of the extortion cycle of a ransomware attack are currently as follows:
- Phase in data encryptionin which files are made unreadable and “imprisoned” by cybercriminals;
- Phase in threat of information leakin which cybercriminals threaten to publicly disclose information previously obtained during the compromise and encryption process;
- Phase of campagna Denial of Service (DDoS)which prevents users from accessing the affected organization’s resources, substantially increasing the damage.
To these phases, the fourth is then added. In this context, cyber criminals contact the affected organization’s customers, employees and business partners, as well as the media, to inform them that sensitive or confidential information associated with them has been compromised.
Second Town “With this model, called quadruple extortion, attackers intend for agents tied to the organization to promote that the entity agrees to pay extortion to eliminate the data breach affecting them“. As the stages progress, obviously, the pressure on the victim increases considerably.
This shows, once again, how important it is to prevent ransomware and avoid a series of problems that, with quadruple extortion, only grow.
