Tag Archive for: Overtakes

BEC overtakes ransomware as cyber crime of choice


The number of incidents involving business email compromise (BEC) has doubled, replacing ransomware as the most common type of financially motivated cyber threat to organisations, according to new research. 

The growth in BEC was linked to a surge in successful phishing campaigns, accounting for 33% of incidents where the initial access vector (IAV) could be established, a near three-fold increase compared to 2021 (13%). 

With talk of advanced AI-driven threats dominating the cybersecurity industry, new research by the Secureworks Counter Threat Unit has revealed that most real-world security incidents have more humble beginnings highlighting a need for businesses to focus on cyber hygiene to bolster their network defences.

Between January and December 2022, Secureworks helped contain and remediate over 500 real-world security incidents. The data from these incidents was analysed by Secureworks CTU researchers to establish trends and emerging threats. 

An equally popular entry point for attackers both nation state and cybercriminal was to exploit vulnerabilities in internet-facing systems, representing a third of incidents where IAV could be established. Typically, threat actors did not need to use zero-day vulnerabilities, instead relying on publicly disclosed vulnerabilities such as ProxyLogon, ProxyShell and Log4Shell to target unpatched machines. 

The research found ransomware incidents fell by 57%, but remain a core threat. This reduction could be due as much to a change in tactics as it is to a reduction in the level of the threat following increased law enforcement activity around high-profile attacks, like Colonial Pipeline and Kaseya. Equally, gangs may be targeting smaller organisations, which are less likely to engage with incident responders.

“Business email compromise requires little to no technical skill but can be extremely lucrative,” says Mike McLellan, Director of Intelligence at Secureworks.

“Attackers can simultaneously phish multiple organisations looking for potential victims, without needing to employ advanced skills or operate complicated affiliate models,” he says.

“Let’s be clear, cybercriminals are opportunistic not targeted….

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TikTok overtakes Google as most used internet site


Move over Google, TikTok is the world’s new most popular online destination.

The viral video app gets more hits than even the ubiquitous American search engine, according to Cloudflare, an IT security company.

TikTok mobile video-sharing app company logo on phone screen with internet homepage in background.

Photo: 123RF

The rankings show that TikTok knocked Google off the top spot in February, March and June this year, and has held the number one position since August.

Last year Google was first, and a number of sites including TikTok, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix were all in the top 10.

Cloudfare said it tracks data using its tool Cloudflare Radar, which monitors web traffic.

It is believed one of the reasons for the surge in TikTok’s popularity is because of the Covid-19 pandemic, as lockdowns meant people were stuck at home and looking for entertainment.

By July this year, TikTok had been downloaded more than three billion times, according to data company Sensor Tower.

The social network, which is owned by a Chinese company called Bytedance, now has more than one billion active users across the world, and that number continues to grow.

ANKARA, TURKEY - SEPTEMBER 30: In this photo illustration the logos of social media applications

Photo: AFP

In China, to comply with the country’s censorship rules, the app is called Douyin, and runs on a different network.

Douyin was originally released in September 2016. This year, China ruled that users under the age of 14 would be limited to 40 minutes a day on the platform.

Security concerns

TikTok was launched internationally in 2018, after merging with another Chinese social media service, Musical.ly, an app which allowed users to share videos of themselves lip-synching to songs.

The social media platform is no stranger to controversy. In 2019, it garnered a temporary ban in India, a US counter-intelligence investigation and a record £4.3m fine after Musical.ly was found to have knowingly hosted content published by under-age users.

As one of the only internationally successful Chinese apps, politicians and regulators outside China have raised concerns about security and privacy.

Last year TikTok was forced to deny it is controlled by the Chinese government.

Theo Bertram, TikTok’s head of public policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said it would refuse any request from China to hand…

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Cryptojacking Overtakes Ransomware as Top Malware in Some Countries – Cointelegraph

Cryptojacking Overtakes Ransomware as Top Malware in Some Countries  Cointelegraph

News. Cryptojacking, the unauthorized use of another’s hardware to mine cryptocurrency, has become the biggest cyber threat in many parts of the world, …

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The Changing Face of Security: Android Overtakes Windows As Top Threat – MIT Technology Review


VentureBeat

The Changing Face of Security: Android Overtakes Windows As Top Threat
MIT Technology Review
A report shows that a higher percentage of Android devices are targeted by hackers than Windows machines. Windows might still suffer from a host of security woes, and cybercriminals are constantly attacking Microsoft's operating system, but looking
Android Riskier Than PCs: Sophos Security Threat Report 2013Dark Reading (blog)

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