Crime-as-a-service: how outsourcing cybercrime can affect your business
Have you ever heard of crime-as-a-service (CaaS)? It refers to a type of cybercrime in which cybercriminals offer illicit services to anyone looking to hire them: breaking into systems, stealing data, extortion, forging documents, among others.
In short, it’s a way to outsource cybercrime, reducing the risks and costs for those who hire them.
Impacts of crime-as-a-service
Crime-as-a-service has been on the rise in recent years, especially with the advance of digitalization and connectivity. According to Europol's Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment, crime-as-a-service is one of the leading challenges for cybersecurity in Europe.
The report points out that criminals use dark web forums and marketplaces, to offer a range of illicit services, such as malware, ransomware, phishing, Denial-of-service attacks, among others.
What "services" are available?
Ransomware-as-a-service: a cybercriminal creates malicious code that encrypts the files on a user's computer. Anyone who wants to use it can: all they need to do is pay the ransomware creator a small sum and that's it! In return, the cybercriminal receives a share of the money from each ransom.
Phishing kits: a complete package for successful phishing is also on the market. From pages that mimic the layout of famous stores and well-known banks to complete manuals for applying phishing, cybercrime offers everything a layman needs to trick internet users.
DDoS attacks: a denial-of-service attack is when a cybercriminal sends a series of requests to a company's servers to the point of overloading them and taking them offline, resulting in downtime – which, for some organizations, represents a loss of money and reputation. This type of attack through crime-as-a-service is available to anyone with bad intentions.
Risks and impacts of crime-as-a-service for companies
Crime-as-a-service greatly facilitates access to cybercrime tools and techniques by people who don't have the knowledge or skills to carry out cyberattacks themselves.
In the old days, cybercriminals first had to acquire a series of technical skills to then create a malicious program and try to target a company. Nowadays, however, anyone can obtain a ready-made kit with the most diverse types of malware with just a few clicks. As a result, digital scams are expected to grow immensely over the next few years.
In addition to online dangers, there are many legal and regulatory challenges to crime-as-a-service. As this type of activity usually involves people and servers spread across several countries, the application of laws and regulations is a lot more complex, since each country follows its particular rules and regulations.
How to protect your company from crime-as-a-service
At the end of the day, regardless of who’s looking to target your organization, the best way to deal with this reality is always the same: education!
Employees must be aware of the dangers of digital crime and how to protect themselves. Thinking long and hard before clicking on a link in a suspicious message and creating strong and different passwords for each online platform is a good start!
And do you know the best way to educate your employees when it comes to cybersecurity? Gamification! Hacker Rangers is a 100% gamified platform to raise awareness about cybersecurity and Brazil’s general data protection law. Visit hackerrangers.com and find out more!
