TLDR Tech / InfoSec
The Ransomware Franchise Wars: How Falling Payments Are Spawning a New Generation of Cybercrime Cartels
The collapses of Black Basta and LockBit have triggered a violent restructuring of the RaaS ecosystem, with new entrants like DragonForce operating as vertically integrated "cartels" that embed access broker marketplaces directly into affiliate panels, compressing the window between initial access and ransomware deployment to hours. A parallel commoditization of EDR evasion tools, including BYOVD-based killers exploiting a still-valid 2006 Microsoft-signed driver, has collapsed the barrier to entry so that even low-budget operators can defeat enterprise security stacks. Defenders should prioritize enabling Microsoft's opt-in Vulnerable Driver Blocklist, monitor access broker marketplaces for organizational exposure, and shift threat intelligence from tracking ransomware brands to tracking persistent infrastructure indicators like shared SSH fingerprints and certificate reuse.
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