I have been working in cybersecurity for a long time, since 1987, over 35 years. And, surprisingly to many readers/observers, I often say I have not seen anything new in the hacker/malware space since I began. The same threats that were a problem then are the same problems now. Social engineering and unpatched software (and firmware) have long been the two biggest initial root causes for hacking…for decades.

Some of the most common ways ransomware is delivered are through phishing emails, drive-by downloads, exploit kits and RDP exploits. According to Malwarebytes’ 2024 State of Malware report, in 2023 the number of known ransomware attacks increased by 68% from the previous year. The report also found that the largest ransom demanded in 2023 was $80 million.

February 28, 2024 | By Sagi Brody As the Chief Technology Officer at Opti9, I’ve spent over two decades navigating the ever-evolving landscape of digital infrastructure. According to the Ransomware Trends Report 2023, at least 93% of cyberattacks targeted backup infrastructure. Clearly, cyber criminals are becoming more proficient in the ability to take your data for ransom.

Since July 2022, Bitsight has been tracking PrivateLoader, the widespread malware downloader behind the Russian Pay-Per-Install (PPI) service called InstallsKey. At the time, this malware was powering the now decommissioned ruzki PPI service. Figure 1 presents a brief description of the service, which was found in their sales telegram channel. Fig. 1 - Service description on telegram channel profile (Russian and English).

Avast researchers have discovered cybercriminals using an old medium (PDFs) in a new--and dangerous--way.

For the first time, analysis of ransomware payments made in a single year tops $1,000,000,000. This signals a massive return to more frequent, sophisticated, and successful attacks. Each year, blockchain analysis company, Chainalysis, reports on ransomware payments based on the payments made to digital wallets known to belong to cybercriminals and cybercriminal gangs.

Emails are still the most common delivery method for malicious files, according to Check Point’s Cyber Security Report for 2024. “Email-based attacks continue to be the dominant initial infection vector,” the report says.

The recent LockBit group take down has shown the world at large the cost of cybercrime. Initially it was reported that just over $100 million had been gathered through the nefarious acts of this particular group but, as I suspected, that initial figure was just a drop in the ocean. It turns out that the real figure was in excess of $1 billion dollars over the last four years, and I still suspect this may be more.

Recently, the cybersecurity world has been abuzz with discussions about Phemedrone, a newly emerged stealer exploiting the CVE-2023-36025 vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Defender SmartScreen. The project was most recently available on GitHub; however, the project was taken down, and the associated account was removed. Active development still occurs via Telegram.