Funding & Editorial Independence
Last updated: July 2026
Ransomnews is free to read and does not run affiliate links. We earn no commission when you click through to a product, and no vendor pays us for coverage, placement, ratings, or ranking. This page explains how the site is actually funded and the rules that keep our reporting independent.
How we’re funded
Ransomnews is funded by licensing the data and research we produce — including the Ransomtracker leak-site index, the Stealercheck credential-exposure data, and our threat-intelligence research — to organisations that need it, and through clearly-labelled research partnerships and sponsored research. We do not fund the site through affiliate commissions, and we do not take payment to influence a review, a score, or a ranking.
Editorial independence
Our reviews, ratings, and ranking decisions are made independently of any commercial relationship. Specifically:
- Vendors do not pay us for inclusion, placement, or favourable coverage.
- Vendors do not see editorial content before it is published.
- Vendors have no right of approval, modification, or veto over our reviews.
- Ranking order is never determined by a commercial relationship. We cover products with no relationship to us alongside any that do.
- We update reviews when products, security audits, or pricing change, including when those changes are unfavourable to the vendor.
Data partnerships we disclose
Some of our tools are built on data licensed from third parties. Where that is the case, and where we also write about that provider, we disclose the relationship plainly on the relevant page. In particular, Ransomnews licenses Alerts.bar data for its own Stealercheck and Ransomtracker tooling. That is a data-supply relationship only: Alerts.bar has no say over our editorial assessment of it or of any competing product.
Outbound links
Links from Ransomnews to vendor or reference sites are ordinary, untracked links. They carry no affiliate tag, set no commission cookie, and earn us nothing if you buy. The price you pay a vendor is unaffected by us.
Regulatory framework
This disclosure is provided in line with the United States Federal Trade Commission’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 C.F.R. Part 255), the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority guidance on hidden advertising, and the European Union’s Directive (EU) 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices. Where we ever publish sponsored research or a paid partnership, it is labelled as such at the point it appears.
Contact
Questions about how we’re funded or about any specific relationship: [email protected]