When browsing the Internet we can find multiple security problems that compromise our equipment. We can think that all this is designed by cybercriminal experts, by professionals who really have extensive knowledge. However today we can say that anyone can be a hacker . Anyone can have the necessary tools to carry out cyber attacks.
Anyone can carry out cybersecurity attacks
Trojans, keyloggers, Phishing attacks … When we enter the Internet, when we install a program or download a file, we can be victims of many varieties of malware . All of them can compromise our security and privacy. They could steal information, passwords, make the equipment malfunction …
If we think about who carries out those attacks, we all come to mind a hacker with the right knowledge, with sophisticated tools that they can exploit to achieve their goal. However, the reality is that nowadays an attacker does not necessarily have excessive knowledge of cybersecurity .
This is so since on the Internet there are many tools available to anyone. They sell kits ready for one user to simply send it to another and infect their system. All this without the need to create an attack that requires extensive knowledge.
Therefore, what a few years ago it was necessary to have a series of computer programs created by the attacker, know techniques to carry out these attacks, today in many cases it is as simple as getting the necessary kit to infect a computer and wait for it to run. It would simply be enough to buy it on the Dark Web , in Internet forums.
Ransomware RaaS or referrals
A very clear example of how any user, without the need for great knowledge, can become a cybercriminal is RaaS ransomware. It basically works through a referral system . In other words, the attacker buys a kit that has previously been created by a group of cybercriminals who do have the necessary knowledge.
The attacker simply has to run that kit he has purchased. For example installing a program or sneaking a file onto the victim’s computer. Automatically that malicious software will execute all the necessary commands for the objective.
What is the referrals that we mentioned consist of? As we know, what ransomware does is encrypt the systems and files of the victim’s computers. The attacker subsequently asks for a ransom in exchange for freeing them. So in this case the one who creates that kit, the hacker who really has the knowledge, is going to obtain a financial benefit, but also the attacker who has bought that kit, despite not having the knowledge. A kind of “commission” where both come out earning money.
In short, RaaS ransomware is just one more example of how anyone can easily be a cybercriminal today. There are other examples that we can mention, such as Phishing attack kits and the like.
All this means that we must take extreme precautions. The fact that it is easier to carry out an attack means that there are more threats that in one way or another could compromise our devices on the network.