GandCrab ransomware creators have made an announcement that they are planning to shut down their Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation by this month end only due to the fact that they have earned enough money- more than their expectations.
It has to be noted over here that GandCrab ransomware as a service is an online portal where hackers are allowed to sign in for the service where they are allowed to access custom builds of the said ransomware which can later be distributed via phishing emails and through other malicious means. As soon as the payment is made by enthusiasts, the developer of the malware receives a small amount of payment as a commission for making their build as an open source.
Tech resource ZDNet was the first source to leak the news to the world on the shut down of the RaaS service within a month. It got the tip-off from a Russian website which has been segregating all the details of the GandCrab ransomware from the beginning i.e. Jan’18. The web resource which is actually a hacking forum has bragged that it has earned over $2 billion in ransom payments- that is $2.5 million per week or $150 million a year.
All the present customers of the malware service have been informed via email about the retirement from April this year. At the same time, the GandCrab RaaS operators are also planning to delete all decryption keys in the near future. So, file decryption in the future for the GandCrab victims might be impossible.
