The Ransomware-as-a-Service Ecosystem in Late 2025: From LockBit's Disruption to the Rise of Qilin, Akira, and DragonForce
The ransomware landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation throughout 2025, with law enforcement disruptions creating both chaos and opportunity within the cybercriminal ecosystem. While Operation Cronos dismantled LockBit's infrastructure in early 2024, the void left by the once-dominant group has spawned a more fragmented, competitive, and paradoxically more