Ransomware authors of the new Saturn Ransomware variant are allowing prospective malware distributors to circulate the ransomware for free. All that they need to do is to sign up a web page via a dark web access and then start distributing the ransomware at free of cost.
According to a source from Bleeping Computer which was the first to throw some light on the said ransomware, the authors of the newly discovered ransomware are allowing easy access to a weaponized version of the new Saturn Ransomware. Their intention is to spread their malware to all wannabe ransomware distributors for free. And then demand 30% of ransomware payments from the distributors.
Some computer geeks from South Africa have already started taking advantage of this money making scheme by signing up for the Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) from last month. And as per some reliable sources who keep a track of blockchain transactions, these guys have so far managed to gather around 3 Bitcoins and 13 Monero coins- a cryptocurrency variant form.
Sharon Augustine, a freelance Cyber Security researcher at Malwarebytes echoes that ransomware distribution as a service can nowadays be treated as one of the most successful Ponzi schemes of the web. She adds that in the case of Saturn ransomware, first, the authors give out their product to distributors as a part of RaaS Payment Scheme and then earn from the ransom money paid by the victims to the distributors.
Another ransomware which is also being distributed in RaaS payment scheme is GandCrab ransomware as this strain of malware is also being offered for free on the dark web.
Note- Ransomware is a malware variant which infects a computer or database by dodging the computer security of that system with an encrypting malware. The encryption remains until a ransom is paid to the ransomware distributor or author in exchange for the decryption key.
