Cybercrime as-a-service , Fraud Management & Cybercrime , Ransomware

Ransomware Attacks Growing More Targeted and Professional

McAfee's John Fokker Charts the Increasingly Advanced Cybercrime Service Economy
John Fokker, head of cyber investigations, McAfee

Ransomware-wielding attackers - aided by a service economy that gives them access to more advanced attack tools - are increasingly targeting organizations rather than individuals to shake them down for bigger ransom payoffs, says McAfee's John Fokker.

The allure of businesses is clear: Attackers can demand more money, earning a bigger potential haul from any given attack, aided by a service economy designed to help them more easily turn a criminal profit via increasingly advanced attack tools, he says.

See Also: Critical Condition: How Qilin Ransomware Endangers Healthcare

In a video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA 2020, Fokker also discusses:

  • The investigation into the Rubella Macro Builder crimeware toolkit offered by a threat actor named Rubella;
  • How the cybercrime-as-service economy is evolving;
  • The rise of more targeted and professional ransomware attackers.

Fokker is head of cyber investigations and red teaming for McAfee Advanced Threat Research. Prior to joining McAfee, he worked at the National High Tech Crime Unit, the Dutch national police unit dedicated to investigating advanced forms of cybercrime, and also served in the special operations and counterterrorism group of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps. He's a co-founder of the No More Ransom project.


About the Author

Mathew J. Schwartz

Mathew J. Schwartz

Executive Editor, DataBreachToday & Europe, ISMG

Schwartz is an award-winning journalist with two decades of experience in magazines, newspapers and electronic media. He has covered the information security and privacy sector throughout his career. Before joining Information Security Media Group in 2014, where he now serves as the executive editor, DataBreachToday and for European news coverage, Schwartz was the information security beat reporter for InformationWeek and a frequent contributor to DarkReading, among other publications. He lives in Scotland.




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