In recent months, news outlets have reported a surge in double extortion ransomware attacks by Black Basta, a notorious ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) threat group first identified in early 2022. The actor is sophisticated, often utilizing a unique set of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) to gain a foothold, spread laterally, exfiltrate data and drop ransomware. However, Kroll has observed Black Basta sometimes utilizing similar TTPs across multiple incidents.

Savvy organizations usually deploy some type of identity and access management (IAM) solution. IAM solutions leverage the principle of least privilege (POLP), role-based access control (RBAC), or other such mechanisms to manage access to data, applications, and IT infrastructure. ‍ However, every organization's structure and human resources capacity typically change over time as new employees are brought on board and existing ones quit.