Security News > 2021 > September > Ransomware crim: Yeah, what I do is bad. No, I don't care. Yes, infosec bods are all mouth and no trousers
Someone claiming to be a former contractor for the REvil ransomware gang has given an interview to a security firm, saying he struggles to sleep at night but isn't ashamed of what he does.
"In the normal world, I was called a contractor - doing some tasks for many ransomware collectives that journalists consider to be famous," said the threat actor, using the handle Antivirus.
While humblebragging about his work on behalf of REvil and poking fun at Western authorities for charging suspects with criminal offences and attributing ransomware operations to state-backed operations, Antivirus painted a picture of an average guy knowingly doing bad things for personal gain.
Contractorisation and the rise of as-a-service business models in the ransomware world are alarming security companies who have been saying for years that ransomware attacks show no sign of abating any time soon.
A major part of the problem is the Russian state's tacit condoning of ransomware attackers in their territories as long as they don't target any organisation based in an ex-Soviet country - an attitude that dates back more than a decade.
The REvil gang, notorious for targeting Western organisations with ransomware attacks over the past couple of years, was recently criticised by other criminals for stealing "Their" ransoms by apparently using backdoors implanted in their malware.