2020 sees cybercriminals turn to Ransomware 2.0
Historically ransomware has relied on encrypting data and then demanding money in order to release it.
But a new report from F-Secure shows that 2020 has seen an increase in ransomware that also steals data, giving the attackers more leverage over their victims. If organizations first refuse to pay a ransom to decrypt their data, attackers threaten to leak the stolen information, increasing pressure on victims.
Ransomware up 62 percent since 2019
Cybercriminals are using more sophisticated ransomware tactics and more dangerous variants, like Ryuk, to earn an easy payday. This has seen a 62 percent increase globally and a 158 percent spike in North America since 2019.
The latest Cyber Threat Report from SonicWall highlights how COVID-19 has provided threat actors with opportunities for more powerful, aggressive and numerous attacks, thriving on the fear and uncertainty of remote and mobile work forces navigating corporate networks from home.
Final quarter of 2020 sees massive spike in ransomware
The last quarter of 2020 saw a 10,000 percent increase in ransomware activity according to a new report from managed security services provider Nuspire.
The company's latest Year in Review Threat Landscape Report -- sourced from its 90 billion traffic logs -- outlines new cybercriminal activity and tactics, techniques and procedures.
2020 sees ransomware increase by over 400 percent
A new study from cybersecurity company Deep Instinct, finds that last year malware increased by 358 percent overall and ransomware increased by 435 percent as compared with 2019.
The report which analyzes millions of attacks taking place across the year finds distribution of the Emotet malware skyrocketed by 4,000 percent, while malware threats attacking Android phones increased by 263 percent.
Poor remote endpoint visibility puts organizations at risk
Most organizations have a severe lack of visibility into remote endpoints according to a new report, which poses additional risks as more people work from home.
In addition, few have a way to stop ransomware from spreading throughout their network after an initial breach, according to the study from zero trust specialist Illumio.
81 percent of financially motivated attacks are ransomware
Ransomware made up 81 percent of all financially motivated cyberattacks in 2020, according to a new report from Atlas VPN.
The remainder of attacks comprised a variety of approaches including point-of-sale intrusions, eCommerce attacks, business email compromise, and cryptocurrency mining.
Firmware attacks, sophisticated ransomware and ID fraud -- cybercrime predictions for 2021
2020 has seen cybercriminals step up their efforts to exploit the surge of people working from home, as well as seeking to exploit news and information about the pandemic.
This is a notoriously difficult area to predict, but what do experts think we’ll see happening in 2021?
How to avoid getting caught in ransomware's crosshairs
Paying off a bad actor for successfully implementing ransomware into an organization is the enterprise equivalent of rewarding a bad child who vandalized a home with candy -- but unfortunately, many organizations often have no choice but to pay… and pay a lot.
Technology has enabled asymmetric attacks. In other words, one attacker can federate an attack across many organizations. The attacker needs to get the attack right once -- while the defenders (corporations, governments, hospitals, etc.) need to get their defense right every… single… time!
Failure to keep up with complexity leaves businesses at ransomware risk
Increasingly businesses have data stored in hybrid- and multi-cloud environments, but a new report shows that this extra complexity could also be putting data at risk.
The report out today from Veritas Technologies found that only 36 percent of respondents say their security has kept pace with their IT complexity, underscoring the need for greater use of data protection solutions that can protect against ransomware across increasingly varied environments.
Getting real about ransomware [Q&A]
For every high-profile ransomware incident in the headlines, there are many more that never get reported. Particularly among small- and medium-sized businesses, often with small IT and cybersecurity teams, a ransomware attack can be an existential problem.
To understand how companies should respond when they discover they're in the grip of a ransomware threat actor, we spoke with Kurtis Minder, CEO and co-founder of GroupSense, which helps companies navigate through these attacks to get their businesses back online.
Hospitals and healthcare hit by global wave of ransomware
October has seen a 71 percent increase in ransomware attacks against the healthcare sector in the US compared to the previous month.
Elsewhere in the world, in EMEA, attacks increased by 36 percent and by 33 percent in the APAC region, according to research from Check Point.
Malware levels drop as attacks become more targeted
Overall malware levels have shown a 39 percent decline over the last quarter as attackers have switched to a more targeted approach.
The third quarter threat intelligence report from SonicWall Capture Labs records a 40 percent surge in global ransomware, a 19 percent increase in intrusion attempts and a 30 percent rise in IoT malware.
Beware the 'Windows Update' that can install malware, steal your personal information, and encrypt your PC
Emotet began life as a banking Trojan back in 2014 but has since evolved into something much worse -- a self-propagating platform that can deploy multiple exploits and spam campaigns.
The number one malware threat today, Emotet usually takes a break during the summer months while the developers behind it work to add new features and capabilities, and now it’s back with a new 'Windows Update' attachment.
Hackers turn to new tactics to make attacks more effective
Some nation-state cyber adversaries and notorious ransomware gangs are deploying an arsenal of new open-sourced tools, actively exploiting corporate email systems and using online extortion to scare victims into paying ransoms.
This is one of the findings of Accenture's latest Cyber Threatscape Report. Analysts have seen attackers using a combination of off-the-shelf tooling -- including 'living off the land' tools, shared hosting infrastructure and publicly developed exploit code -- and open source penetration testing tools to carry out cyberattacks and hide their tracks.
The impact and cost of ransomware in 2020
We reported earlier this week that ransomware attacks have increased dramatically in the last year and it's undoubtedly a growing problem.
In order to demonstrate just how big an issue it's become, Lumu, which helps businesses measure their compromise exposure, has produced an infographic detailing the cost and extent of ransomware.
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