Matthew RosenquistFounder & CISO Advisor, Cybersecurity Insights · CISO, Cybersecurity Strategist, & Industry Advisor

Why Brands are Important to Ransomware Gangs

1 Jul 2024 · 1 min

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Ransomware gangs like LockBit build brands with logos, websites, and recognizable names to signal they're reliable criminals. A strong brand tells victims the encryption works, the decryption tool actually functions, and the gang won't attack again or leak data after payment.

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It's actually surprisingly important for these ransomware gangs to maintain the brand. They go to great lengths to build a brand on themselves. LockBit, that's a great brand. Everybody who works in the industry knows that this is serious. You know that if you get hit by ransomware gang, it's bad. You get hit by LockBit, it's very bad. You know that these guys have been in business for years and years. You know that you won't be able to crack the encryption. You know that they will post your files if you don't pay, but you also know that if you do pay, they won't attack you again, they won't leak the files, the decryption tool will work, it's been tested over and over again. So, you know that they are criminals, but they are like honest criminals. And this is the reason why these gangs do branding. That's why they have names, that's why they have logos, that's why they have websites, that's why people take LockBit tattoos.