Privateers aren t necessarily state-sponsored, but they have some form of government protection while promoting their own financially-motivated criminal agenda. These predominantly ransomware groups are not specifically sponsored and directed by a government. They do have some type of protection from global governments while they themselves remain financially motivated and act upon their own agendas. These new breed of cybercriminal also is a fairly sophisticated bunch, with affiliates and third parties involved in helping it do its dirty work.
Source: https://threatpost.com/privateer-threat-actors-emerge/166483/