Cyber Attack Trends: Less Ransomware, More Exfiltration
The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) released their data breach report for the first half of 2022. The findings showed a decline in ransomware attacks between quarter one and quarter two, the first time ransomware attacks have declined since 2019. Security researchers speculate the decline could be related to the war in Ukraine and cryptocurrency losing value.
EXFILTRATION IS SO HOT RIGHT NOW
The Hacker News also shared some insights as to why ransomware is less popular with cyber criminals. They agree that crypto is no longer a profitable payment option and organizations have recovery systems in place. This has forced cyber criminals to switch tactics and embrace data exfiltration attacks. A data exfiltration attack happens when cyber criminals steal sensitive data and threaten to release it unless a payment is received. The attackers do not need to lock users out their systems with ransomware to execute this attack, In fact, it benefits the attackers to lurk undetected on the network to gather the juiciest bits of information. Educational agencies and organizations can reduce the risk of a data exfiltration by patching systems, maintaining (and testing) backups, and monitoring networks for unusual behavior. Download the ITRC H2 2022 Report here The Hacker News: The Rise of Data Exfiltration, and Why it is a Greater Risk Than Ransomware
Issue 27
Data Security and Privacy Service
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