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According to cybersecurity researchers, ransomware gangs use similar methods to government-sponsored cyber-attackers and have focused their targeting on more lucrative potential victims.
As ransomware gangs hit prominent victims like a pipeline company and food manufacturers in the first six months of 2021, the cybersecurity company Trend Micro He said he has observed cyber-attackers becoming more mature criminal enterprises whose attacks “look like nation-states.” [advanced persistent threat] attacks.”
“Cybercriminal groups have adopted more sophisticated business models and adopted new technologies to create efficient and stealthy ransomware attacks,” he says. Trend Micro“2021 Mid-Year Cybersecurity Report.”
“These advanced attacks have certain characteristics that distinguish them from traditional ransomware activities: data exfiltration instead of simple encryption, covert online collaboration, extended use of affiliate programs, and APT-like victim targeting,” the security firm said in a statement Tuesday.
Trend Micro He said he observed far fewer ransomware threats in the first half of 2021 compared to the first six months of 2020.
“Our data shows that more than 7.3 million ransomware threats were detected in the first six months of 2021, which is almost half of the number of detections we found in the same period in 2020.” Trend Micro“2021 Mid-Year Cybersecurity Report.”
“There are several factors that could contribute to this decline. First, it marks the shift to the more targeted modern ransomware we analyzed, which involves attackers shifting from a less effective, quantity-oriented ransomware model to big game hunting.”
Other factors Trend Micro It is stated that it may have deterred cyber attackers such as governments around the world taking precautions against ransomware operations, ransomware gang DarkSide asking others to keep quiet, and stopping threats before they reach people.
Ransomware threats Trend Micro threats, including measured in emails, malicious files, and URLs.
Trend Micro It’s not the only company observing fewer ransomware threats in 2021. Cybersecurity firm McAfee said it saw “smaller” campaigns in its report for the first quarter of 2021, released in June.
“More attackers have shifted from mass-spread campaigns to lesser but more lucrative targets,” McAfee’s June report said. “Many of these larger, targeted victims received a custom-made variant of the ransomware family at a low volume.”
Some cybersecurity experts feel that measuring ransomware threats is hampered by any company’s limited view of the threat landscape, and diminished by poor information sharing.
Brett Callow, threat analyst at software company Emsisoft, said that a key metric that matters when tracking ransomware is the number of successful attacks, and that “has been pretty constant for a while.”
“Like legitimate businesses, cybercriminal businesses deliver as much output as they can, but are limited by staff and infrastructure limits. The overall threat landscape and the volume of attacks are changing, but not fast,” Mr Callow said in an email. “However, ransomware has a seasonal aspect and the total number of global incidents increases at certain times of the year. However, spikes do not necessarily occur in the same months or quarters each year. As a result, fluctuations in numbers are perfectly normal. ”
Fewer ransomware threats also don’t necessarily mean less danger, and can actually mean the opposite. Efficient ransomware gangs collected millions of dollars in payments in the first six months of 2021, while previous widespread attacks may have generated smaller returns from less-funded victims.
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