Clop ransomware

2019-Present

Clop (sometimes written Cl0p) is another ransomware variant that emerged on the scene in 2019 and has grown increasingly prevalent since. In addition to preventing victims from accessing their data, Clop allows the attacker to withdraw that data as well.

What makes Clop so interesting and dangerous, however, is not how it’s deployed, but by whom. It’s at the forefront of a trend called Ransomware-as-a-Service, in which a professionalized group of hackers does all the work for whoever will pay them enough (or share in a percentage of the ransomware riches they extract from victims).