As we approach the one year anniversary of two prominent ransomware group collapses (Lockbit and BlackCat/ALPHV), we find the ransomware ecosystem to be as fractured and uncertain as it did in the months following these events. The Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) model remains irreversibly tarnished after the groups that pioneered this framework were exposed as being fraught with infighting, deception, lost profits, and compromised anonymity for their affiliates. Joint law enforcement actions over the last year have systematically impaired the resources ransomware actors depend on to operate. In the case of domestic threats, law enforcement efforts have even put a number of bad actors behind bars. While certain groups persist and new names continue to trickle in and out of the ransom-sphere, ...
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