Secureworks Counter Risk Unit (CTU) researchers have uncovered modern methods deployed by the DragonForce and Anubis ransomware operators in 2025.
These teams are adapting to legislation enforcement pressures with novel affiliate fashions designed to maximise income and broaden their attain, showcasing the resilience and ingenuity of recent cybercriminals in underground boards.
DragonForce Pioneers a Distributed Affiliate Branding Mannequin
DragonForce, first recognized in August 2023 as a standard ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation, has undergone a big transformation by March 2025.
Initially gaining traction after promoting on darkish internet boards in February 2024, the group amassed a sufferer depend of 136 on its leak web site as of March 24, 2025.
In a daring transfer introduced on March 19 through an underground put up, DragonForce rebranded itself as a “cartel” and shifted to a distributed mannequin.
This new strategy permits associates to ascertain their very own distinctive “manufacturers” whereas leveraging DragonForce’s strong infrastructure, together with administration panels, encryption instruments, ransom negotiation programs, Tor-based leak websites, and assist companies.
In contrast to conventional RaaS schemes, associates should not mandated to make use of DragonForce’s ransomware, providing unprecedented flexibility.
This mannequin lowers the technical limitations for less-skilled menace actors whereas interesting to stylish operators preferring to deploy customized malware with out constructing their very own backend.
Nevertheless, this shared infrastructure introduces a possible vulnerability if one affiliate is compromised, it may expose operational particulars of others, posing dangers to your entire community.
This strategic pivot is poised to broaden DragonForce’s affiliate base, probably amplifying its monetary beneficial properties whereas difficult defenders with a extra various menace panorama.
Anubis Introduces Multi-Mode Extortion Ways
Concurrently, the Anubis ransomware group, marketed since late February 2025 on underground platforms, has rolled out a particular extortion framework with three affiliate choices tailor-made to various talent ranges and operational focuses.
In response to Secureworks Report, the primary is a conventional RaaS mannequin with file encryption, providing associates an 80% ransom share.
The second, a “information ransom” mode, focuses solely on information theft, offering a 60% reduce by publishing detailed “investigative articles” on compromised information to a password-protected Tor web site, pressuring victims by public leak threats and notifications to clients through an X (previously Twitter) account.
Uniquely, Anubis escalates by threatening to report breaches to regulatory our bodies just like the UK’s ICO, the US HHS, and the European EDPB an aggressive tactic echoing previous actions by teams like GOLD BLAZER in 2023 with the SEC.
The third choice, “accesses monetization,” assists associates in extorting already compromised victims with detailed information analyses for negotiation leverage, providing a 50% ransom share.
Notably, Anubis excludes targets in post-Soviet states, BRICS nations, and sectors like schooling and authorities, however leaves healthcare organizations uncovered, doubtless attributable to their delicate information and compliance pressures.
This multi-tiered mannequin diversifies Anubis’s attraction, drawing in a spectrum of cybercriminals whereas intensifying sufferer coercion by regulatory threats.
These developments underscore the relentless adaptability of ransomware operators, as DragonForce and Anubis refine their enterprise fashions to evade disruption and maximize influence.
Cybersecurity professionals should anticipate these evolving techniques by enhancing detection, incident response, and worldwide cooperation to counter the rising sophistication of such threats.
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