The sale and purchase of unauthorized access to compromised enterprise networks has become a linchpin for cybercriminal operations, particularly in facilitating ransomware attacks.
Underground forums are sharing guidelines on breaching networks and selling the access they obtain, leaving the exploitation to other malicious actors. On underground criminal forums, these transactions allow actors with complementary skills to collaborate, amplifying the impact and reach of cyberattacks. The market for such access has grown notably, especially as ransomware operators increasingly employ double-extortion tactics.
Read more…
Source: Rapid7
Related:
- Universities a ‘huge target’ for nation-state attackers, warns NCSC
September 19, 2019
Universities are the gatekeepers and creators of highly valuable information, which makes them attractive targets of cyber crime and state-sponsored espionage, so it’s important that these institutions remain cyber secure. Ask key contributors to the economy, skills development and innovation in the UK, universities handle highly sensitive and valuable personal data an intellectual property that outside ...
- Magecart Skimming Attack Targets Mobile Users of Hotel Chain Booking Websites
September 18, 2019
Trend Micro discovered a series of incidents where the credit card skimming attack Magecart was used to hit the booking websites of chain-brand hotels — the second time we’ve seen a Magecart threat actor directly hit ecommerce service providers instead of going for individual stores or third-party supply chains. Back in May, we discovered a ...
- Rethinking Responsibilities and Remedies in Social-Engineering Attacks
September 18, 2019
In the pantheon of catchy cybersecurity slogans that should never have caught on, two about social engineering spring to mind almost immediately: “End users are the weakest link” and “attackers only have to be lucky once; defenders have to be lucky all the time.” Both of those statements have been repeated by practitioners for time ...
- Smominru Botnet Indiscriminately Hacked Over 90,000 Computers Just Last Month
September 18, 2019
Insecure Internet-connected devices have aided different types of cybercrime for years, most common being DDoS and spam campaigns. But cybercriminals have now shifted toward a profitable scheme where botnets do not just launch DDoS or spam—they mine cryptocurrencies as well. Smominru, an infamous cryptocurrency-mining and credential-stealing botnet, has become one of the rapidly spreading computer viruses ...
- Assessing the impact of protection from web miners
September 17, 2019
Kaspersky Lab present the results of evaluating the positive economic and environmental impact of blocking web miners with Kaspersky products. The total power saving can be calculated with known accuracy using the formula <w>·N, where <w> is the average value of the increase in power consumption of the user device during web mining, and N is ...
- Astaroth Spy Trojan Uses Facebook, YouTube Profiles to Cover Tracks
September 13, 2019
Facebook and YouTube profiles are at the heart of an ongoing phishing campaign spreading the Astaroth trojan, bent on the eventual exfiltration of sensitive information. The attack is sophisticated in that it uses normally trusted sources as cover for malicious activities – thus evading usually effective email and network security layers. The attack starts with an ...