"Ransomware-as-a-Service: Negotiators Are Now in High Demand"

Victoria Kivilevich, a threat intelligence analyst at KELA, published findings from a study on Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) trends suggesting that one-person operations are diminishing because of the profitability of the criminal ransomware business. The growth in the number of cybercrime and extortion specialists has come with a rise in the demand for individuals who can act as negotiators in the attack chain. The demand for extraction and monetization specialists in the ransomware supply chain has increased. The emergence of negotiators in the monetization arena is now a trend in the realm of RaaS. According to KELA researchers, there have been more threat actors that manage the negotiation part of ransomware attacks and further pressure victims into paying the demanded ransom through calls, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, threats to leak stolen information to the public, and more. KELA suggests that this role has emerged because of the need for ransomware operators to have a decent profit margin and the need for individuals that can manage conversational English to negotiate more effectively. The negotiation part of the ransomware attack also appears to be an outsourced activity, at least for some affiliates or developers. Therefore, the ransomware ecosystem is increasingly resembling a corporation consisting of diversified roles and numerous outsourced activities. This article continues to discuss the increased demand for negotiators in the RaaS ecosystem and other key findings from KELA's study on RaaS trends. 

ZDNet reports "Ransomware-as-a-Service: Negotiators Are Now in High Demand"