In the world of cybercrime, various threats have emerged over the past few years. Computer and mobile users know that all too well, as it is evident staying safe is an ongoing challenge. The rise of cybercrime-as-a-service will ensure this process does not come to an end anytime soon. It creates a very troublesome situation for consumers and security researchers alike.
The Popularity of Cybercrime-as-a-Service
Any concept in the world can be turned into an “as-a-service” model. This applies to both legitimate and criminal activities alike. Especially the latter aspect has plenty of people concerned, for more than obvious reasons. Criminals have made a lot of money through cybercrime over the years, and it seems the rewards only become easier to come by as more time progresses.
New research confirms cybercrime-as-a-service will only continue to grow more popular. Several key trends have been identified in this regard, although it is possible the landscape will go well beyond these particular offerings. Especially illegitimate e-commerce is a problematic venture, primarily because most of this activity takes place on the darknet. Even though people can use Tor for legitimate ecommerce as well, the illicit activity’s value vastly outweighs the legitimate offerings.
Additionally, researchers are now convinced cybercrime-as-a-service is no longer a niche market. Although things looked very different just a few years ago, a major shift has taken place ever since. Despite only being pursued by several done people at first, things have taken a turn for the worse. More specifically, the CaaS business model now employs hundreds of users who are all looking to make money quickly.
Unfortunately, it appears cybercrime is still one of the more rewarding business models these days. The growth of ransomware, cryptojacking, data-stealing malware, and others has not gone by unnoticed. This further shows criminals will continue to explore business opportunities in this regard, albeit no one knows for sure how much money can be made from exploring these ventures. It is evident CaaS has turned into a $1tn business recently.
As one would come to expect, the cybercrime-as-a-service model has some trends which are more favorable than others. In this particular report, it seems three key pillars stand out once again. Zero-day exploits will always be popular, primarily because they allow criminals to explore different ventures. Ransomware will also remain popular, for rather obvious reasons. DDoS Extortion is the surprising third entry on this list, albeit companies are afraid of having their services crippled for an extended period of time.
No one can deny cybercrime-as-a-service is a trend worth keeping an eye on. Although it does not convey a positive message by any means, no one can afford to ignore these threats for an extended period of time. Especially with IoT becoming a lot more popular, it is evident the number of attack vectors will only continue to increase over time. Preparing for the worst is no unnecessary luxury at this time.
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