Less malware, more interactive intrusions, and big game hunting lead to more success, with an 82% increase in ransomware-related data leaks.
Cybercriminals and nation-state actors adapted to defenders’ tactics and became more efficient in 2021, with attackers relying more on data leaks combined with ransomware to extort increasing sums of money from companies — and in some cases using data leaks without encrypting data to force a company to pay, according to two analyses published this week.
Data leaks associated with ransomware jumped 84% in 2021, compared with the previous year, according to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike’s annual “Global Threat Report,” published Wednesday. Almost two-thirds (62%) of attackers avoided using malware for the initial compromise, and in 45% of incidents, the attackers used interactive intrusion — with fingers on the keyboard — to infect systems.
In the past, companies use to be able to blame “sophisticated actors” for breaches, provide customers with credit-monitoring services, and essentially avoid any major consequences of a breach, but now the adversaries are taking control of the disclosure and the negotiation, says Adam Meyers, senior vice president for intelligence at CrowdStrike.
“Organizations need to understand that the threat actors are not just going after systems,” he says. “They are going after their data and they are using it against them in ways that are far more dangerous than just encrypting it.” Read more:https://bit.ly/3gWbe6D