Data Stockpiling Pays Off For Cybercriminals, Says New Report By Surfwatch Labs
Sterling, VA (PRWEB) July 20, 2016 -- Past cyber-attacks and the tools used to carry them out have led to new breaches, according to key findings in a new mid-year trend report by cyber threat intelligence provider, SurfWatch Labs. In a study of cybercrime events that occurred in the first half of 2016, the stockpile of personal information garnered from old data breaches led to new compromises and lucrative payoffs for cyber criminals.
“When LinkedIn announced in May of this year that their 2012 breach actually impacted 100 million more users than originally thought, other organizations began to see data breaches they attributed to the LinkedIn compromise, widespread password reuse by users and remote access software from services such as GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, and TeamViewer,” said Adam Meyer, chief security strategist, SurfWatch Labs. “Other breached organizations only widened the pool of information available to be stockpiled by bad actors.”
No industry was left untouched, and the tactics used were not new or sophisticated, according to the report that offers a breakdown of industries targeted, the effects of cybercrime and the tactics criminals employed.
SurfWatch Labs collected cyber event activity from thousands of open and Dark Web sources and then categorized, normalized and measured the data for impact based on their CyberFact information model. Highlights from the SurfWatch Labs Cyber Risk Report: 2016 Mid-Year Review include:
- IT and global government were the most targeted industries. Of all the CyberFacts analyzed, the information technology industry was hit the hardest in the first half of 2016. Microsoft was second behind LinkedIn as the top target. After IT, the government sector had the highest number of publicly discussed cybercrime targets, led by a breach at the Commission on Elections in the Philippines.
- The consumer goods sector made up the largest share of industry targets with information bought, sold or otherwise discussed on the dark web.
- Credentials theft is on the rise. Credentials stolen/leaked appeared in 12.7% of the negative CyberFacts in the first half of 2016, up from 8.3% in all of 2015. That rise is driven by massive credential breaches such as LinkedIn, which was the most talked about event over the period.
- Ransomware and extortion are the methods of choice. The first half of 2016 saw a significant spike in ransomware and extortion as researchers, organizations, and government officials scrambled to deal with the growing and costly problem of data or services being held hostage.
“Our research indicates the familiar cadence of ‘we were breached by a sophisticated attack but it has now been contained’ actually contradicts what has really happened so far this year,” said Meyer. “By understanding what the bad guys are up to, we can make better informed forecasts of how cybercrime will impact organizations going forward and therefore what should be done to reduce risk in the future.”
To read the full, complimentary report, visit: SurfWatch Labs Cyber Risk Report: 2016 Mid-Year Review
##
About SurfWatch Labs
SurfWatch Labs helps organizations and service providers quickly establish a strategic cyber threat intelligence operation that drives more effective use of their tactical defenses. Founded in 2013 by former US Government intelligence analysts, SurfWatch Labs solutions provide a 360-degree view of cyber threats in the context of your business, along with practical and personalized support to create immediate insights and meaningful action. Combining useful analytics, applications and human expertise, SurfWatch solutions can be your off-the-shelf, cyber threat intelligence team or delivered as a comprehensive product suite that easily integrates with your existing cybersecurity operations.
SurfWatch Labs: Cyber In Sight. For more information, visit surfwatchlabs.com.
Online Resources:
- Read our blog
- Follow us on Twitter at @SurfWatchLabs
- Like us on Facebook
- Watch our Videos on YouTube
Kim Boeckenstedt, SurfWatch Labs, http://www.surfwatchlabs.com, +1 (319) 389-6953, [email protected]
Share this article