Europol has reported that there was a 300% increase in ransomware payments in the year 2019-2020 and cyber criminals are developing new techniques to make ransomware campaigns more effective and likely to result in a payout.
“The use of traditional mass-distributed ransomware seems to be in decline and perpetrators are moving towards human-operated ransomware targeted at private companies, the healthcare and education sectors, critical infrastructure and governmental institutions.
The shift in the attack paradigm indicates that ransomware operators choose their targets based on their financial capability to comply with higher ransom demands and their need to be able to resume their operations as quickly as possible.”
Europol
By being more targeted in their approach, hackers can also spend more time preparing; stealing additional login details, encrypting more files …
“Ransomware attacks have become more sophisticated as criminals spend more time inside the network researching the target and escalating their privileges in order to further compromise the infrastructure and get their hands on more data.
Perpetrators continue to be increasingly ruthless and methodical in their modi operandi,” Europol said: ” In the past 12 months, the arsenal of coercion methods has expanded with cold-calling journalists, victims’ clients, business partners and employees. In addition, many of the most notorious ransomware affiliate programs deploy DDoS attacks against their victims to pressure them into complying with the ransom demand. “
Europol
Source: ZDNet
Informed Sauce is hosting an Infinidat-sponsored event in London on 2 December about protecting businesses from cyber crime.
Speakers include a member of the Metropolitan Police and sponsor Infinidat’s EMEA Field CTO. Short talks will be followed by a panel-led, room-wide moderated discussion, with plenty of opportunities for you to contribute your thoughts and ask questions.
Visit the event microsite for more details and to sign up.