How the RaaS Business Model Actually Works

Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) is a criminal service model that turns ransomware into a scalable, repeatable business allowing developers to provide malware and infrastructure to affiliates; the report explains the RaaS ecosystem, role specialization (operators, affiliates, IABs), common intrusion paths (phishing, exposed RDP/VPN, abused RMM, stolen credentials), a SonicWall-to-Akira case illustrating post-exploitation tradecraft, and actionable defensive recommendations to detect and stop intrusions before encryption.