Ransomware attacks-their development and key information

Ransomware attacks-their development and key information

Fortinet is a global leader in the field of integrated and automated solutions that are mainly targeted at cybercrime. Recently, this leader released the latest version of a document that deals with digital threats around the world. This version was created by FortiGuard.

What data do they find in the version of the document created by FortiGuard?

– Ransomware as a service- mainly ransomware is made available in this model. The number of variants of this software is constantly growing. It was explained that the devices used for remote work, which allow it to be done from anywhere, are the main target of cybercriminals, why? They facilitate access to corporate networks. Operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) environments are also on the list of targets for cybercriminals, for the reason that it is in systems where IT and OT environments have converged that cybercriminals see an opportunity to expand their attack. Software that deletes data is increasingly being shipped and this serves as one of the attackers’ tools. To increase their precision, cybercriminals are unfortunately increasingly using reconnaissance techniques, and what does this lead to? They become invisible to security software. This therefore leads to greater effectiveness of their attacks.

Increase in the number of ransomware variants

Ransomware unfortunately poses the biggest threat. Day by day, cybercriminals are seeking to expand the scale of their attacks, and so are investing money in new attack techniques. The data that FortiGuard Lab has observed over the past six months is alarming. So let’s take a look at the numbers:

• 10,666-that’s how many ransomware code variants have been observed in the last six months
• 5,400-that’s how many variants there were in the previous six months

Ransomware as a Service is a service-based distribution model and it is found in the darkweb and is gaining popularity among cybercriminals who target companies as their targets. So every company should seriously consider taking advantage of ransomware attack insurance. So what do companies need to protect themselves? No matter what industry a company is in, a proactive approach is needed here.

Increase in the number of wiper variants

The trend of constant evolution that concerns destructive threats is unfortunately on the rise. Thus, malware such as Wiper, which deletes data, is popular. The war in Ukraine in particular has led to an increase in this type of threat. FortiGuard Labs has observed at least seven new major variants of Wiper. These are data from the first half of 2022, as of this moment, September 2022, these variants may already be more. Variants of wiper software have been used in various campaigns that have targeted government, military, as well as private entities.

What tactics are cybercriminals taking?

For cybercriminals, the priority is to hide their evil intentions. The moment they want to launch an effective attack, they try every way to bypass defense mechanisms, and how do they do it? They mask the malicious codes and try to hide them in a trusted process that has a legitimate certificate. This is not the only tactic used by cybercriminals, another involves so-called process injection. What does this mean? To put it briefly: they shout code into the address space of another process, and this is done to avoid detection, and to increase the degree of invisibility. Not everyone will defend against a cybercriminal who uses one of these techniques. Only a company that is equipped with tools aware of these techniques will defend itself.

Security through artificial intelligence

The targets and tactics used by cybercriminals are not immediately understood. To understand them, companies are helped by threat intelligence. Key in all of this is their awareness. The knowledge gained through training is also important. It’s a good idea to conduct them regularly, as the threat landscape is constantly changing and employees and teams need to stay up to date. Protection that works at machine speed is what companies need to protect themselves.

Fortinet company-what do we know about it?

It is a company that, through its mission, secures people, devices and data, no matter where they are. It enables a digital world that can always be trusted. The world’s largest enterprises, service providers, as well as government organizations choose Fortinet, why? Because they are aware that this choice will safely accelerate their digital transformation. The Fortinet Security Fabric platform provides broad, integrated and automated protection against various types of attacks. It secures mission-critical devices, data and applications, and connections from the data center to the cloud to the home office.

Fortinet is trusted by more than 595,000 customers. This has made it now the world’s number one in terms of the number of security devices delivered.