Breaking Down S3 Ransomware: Variants, Attack Paths and Trend Vision One™ Defenses
Ransomware remains a persistent threat, historically focused on on-premises environments through network intrusions, phishing campaigns, malicious attachments, and the exploitation of outdated or vulnerable software.
As organizations continue to move to the cloud, ransomware tactics are evolving. In cloud environments, attackers increasingly exploit misconfigured storage resources and stolen credentials. Unlike traditional ransomware that relies on encryption malware, cloud-focused variants often use native cloud capabilities to overwrite or delete data, suspend access, or extract sensitive information. These techniques allow attackers to operate while remaining largely undetected by traditional security controls.
Trend Research examines how ransomware actors are shifting toward cloud-native assets, why these resources are attractive targets, and how various attack paths can affect AWS environments when attackers obtain access keys with permissions to invoke numerous S3 APIs.
