Security News > 2021 > May > DarkSide Getting Taken to ‘Hackers’ Court’ For Not Paying Affiliates

Cybercriminals who have worked as affiliates with ransomware group DarkSide, responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack, are having a tough time getting paid for their work now that the group has had its operations interrupted; so, they're turning to admins of the group's Dark Web criminal forum to sort things out in what researchers call a "Shady version of the People's Court."

Ransomware-as-a-service providers like DarkSide strike arrangements with various other cybercriminals to provide malware for their campaigns in exchange for a percentage of the take - and business is booming.

The claims are being settled among admins in a well-defined "Hackers' courtroom" and payments made by admins out of a DarkSide deposit they control.

Not content with settling for double extortion, where victims are threatened with losing access to their sensitive data, and also with having that data posted publicly, these ransomware gangs have decided to up the ante with triple extortion.

While these ransomware gangs have shown no mercy to their victims - attacking hospitals, schools and disrupting the lives of everyday people - they have enough business sense to know they need basic mechanisms for recruitment and settling disputes.

"A 'customer' comes forward with a ransomware complaint? There are staff members and support queues for that. Want a good deal on getting your stolen information back? Just contact the sales department - they can help. That five-star service experience is something that many legitimate service providers are striving toward to this day."

News URL

https://threatpost.com/darkside-hackers-court-paying-affiliates/166393/