Build Your Own Ransomware Feed Monitor in AWS — Zero Cost Guide

Introduction

In today’s cybersecurity landscape, staying updated with the latest ransomware incidents is essential for organizations and threat researchers. What if I told you that you could build your own ransomware feed monitor on AWS for free?

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to fetch ransomware victim data from public feeds, process it, and receive instant alerts using AWS Lambda and SNS — all without spending a penny. 🚀

By the end, you’ll have a fully automated solution to monitor ransomware feeds in real-time.

Why Build Your Own Ransomware Monitor?

• Stay Updated: Instantly monitor ransomware attacks reported worldwide.
• Free Solution: Utilize AWS Free Tier services.
• Automated Alerts: Receive email notifications whenever new incidents are reported.
• Scalable: AWS handles the infrastructure; it scales automatically.
• Easy to Implement: No need for expensive tools or coding expertise.

Example of the automatic free report

What You Will Need

• An AWS account (Free Tier eligible).
• Basic Python and AWS Lambda knowledge.
• Public ransomware feed URL: https://data.ransomware.live/posts.json.

Architecture Overview

Here’s what our solution will look like:

1. AWS Lambda fetches the latest ransomware data.
2. Data is filtered for incidents reported in the last 5 days.
3. The processed results are sent as alerts via Amazon SNS.
4. You receive real-time email updates about new ransomware victims.

+-----------------------+
|   Public JSON API     |
| https://data.ransom...|
+----------+------------+
           |
           v
+-----------------------+
|   Amazon EventBridge  |
|  (Schedules Trigger)  |
+----------+------------+
           |
           v
+-----------------------+
|      AWS Lambda       |
| - Fetches data        |
| - Filters recent      |
|   victims (last 5 days)|
| - Formats the message |
+----------+------------+
           |
           v
+-----------------------+
|   Amazon SNS Topic    |
| - Publishes message   |
|   to subscribers      |
+----------+------------+
           |
           v
+-----------------------+
|   Email Notification  |
| - Alerts sent to      |
|   recipients          |
+-----------------------+

Step-by-Step Manual

Step 1: Setup Your AWS Account

• Log in to your AWS Console.
• Go to IAM and create a role with the following permissions:
• AWS Lambda basic execution role
• SNS Publish permission

Step 2: Create Your Lambda Function

1. Navigate to AWS Lambda and click Create Function.
2. Choose Author from scratch:

• Function name: (example) ransom_victims_monitor
• Runtime: Python 3.9 (or the latest version).

and finally Attach the IAM role created earlier.

Step 3: Write the Code

Here’s the full script for your Lambda function:

import json
import requests
import boto3
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
def get_recent_victims(days=5):
 url = "https://data.ransomware.live/posts.json"
 response = requests.get(url)
 if response.status_code == 200:
 victims = response.json()
 date_threshold = datetime.today() - timedelta(days=days)
 recent_victims = [
 victim for victim in victims 
 if datetime.strptime(victim.get('published', ''), '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f') >= date_threshold
 ]
 return recent_victims
 return []
def format_message_content(victims):
 if not victims:
 return "No ransomware victims reported in the last 5 days."
 message_content = "Recent Ransomware Victims:\n\n"
 for victim in victims:
 message_content += (
 f"Victim: {victim.get('post_title', 'N/A')}\n"
 f"Group: {victim.get('group_name', 'N/A')}\n"
 f"Date: {victim.get('published', 'N/A')}\n"
 f"Country: {victim.get('country', 'N/A')}\n"
 f"URL: {victim.get('post_url', 'N/A')}\n\n"
 )
 return message_content
def publish_to_sns(message_content):
 sns_client = boto3.client('sns', region_name='us-east-2')
 sns_client.publish(
 TopicArn='arn:aws:sns:your_topic_arn',
 Message=message_content,
 Subject='Ransomware Victims Update'
 )
def lambda_handler(event, context):
 victims = get_recent_victims()
 message_content = format_message_content(victims)
 publish_to_sns(message_content)
 return {
 'statusCode': 200,
 'body': json.dumps('SNS Alert Sent!')
 }

Step 4: Deploy the Lambda Function

1. Copy and paste the above code into the Lambda editor.
2. Replace your_topic_arn with your SNS Topic ARN.
3. Save and click Deploy.

Step 5: Create an SNS Topic

1. Go to Amazon SNS → Topics → Create Topic.
2. Choose Standard Topic.
3. Add your email as a subscriber and confirm the subscription.

Step 6: Schedule the Function

To run the function automatically:

1. Go to Amazon EventBridge → Rules → Create Rule.
2. Set a schedule (e.g., run every 6 hours).
3. Add the Lambda function as a target.

Advantages of This Solution

✅ Cost-Effective: Fully operational within the AWS Free Tier.
✅ Real-Time Alerts: Get notified instantly about new ransomware victims.
✅ Customizable: Modify the script to filter specific ransomware groups or regions.
✅ Scalable: AWS Lambda ensures the function runs efficiently, even with large datasets.

Final Thoughts

With this simple yet powerful solution, you can stay ahead of ransomware trends without relying on costly third-party tools. Whether you’re a threat researcher, a cybersecurity analyst, or just a curious tech enthusiast, this project provides valuable insights into global ransomware activity.

What’s next?

• Expand the script to analyze data further.
• Build a dashboard in AWS to visualize ransomware trends.

Ready to Build?

Follow this guide, deploy the monitor, and start receiving your ransomware alerts. If you have any questions or want to share improvements, let me know in the comments!

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