Ransomware: hackers’ main cyber weapon of choice

Given the spread of COVID-19 and especially its Delta variant, companies are opting to allow their employees more opportunities for teleworking. Unfortunately, this yields more targets for extortion through ransomware attacks perpetrated by cybercriminals. They take advantage of home internet security typically being more vulnerable than corporations’ (another reason why a strong centralized VPN is so vital.) The average ransomware attack payout has grown to nearly $234,000 per event. This is a 358 percent increase from 2020.

Criminal hacking groups have largely become much more sophisticated in their phishing exploit methods. Additionally, they’ve coordinated their efforts with the dark web – the hardest area of the internet to find – and its various forums. This is to glean information from other hacking groups regarding what works vs. what doesn't work. Hackers do this to ramp up their attacks to a more lethal method. Because cyber and ransomware attacks are becoming more popular, it’s becoming utterly critical that companies ensure their networks be equipped with anti-malware programs, password complexities must become more advanced, and employees must be educated on ensuring their home routers are protected with the best means possible. Organizations must also emphasize to their employees that one error can mean the company’s downfall.

Hackers will often collaborate with other successful hackers to disguise their ransomware emails to look more legitimate. They do this by preying on the topics that are most interesting for that week or even for that day, hoping to find one employee gullible enough to access the malicious URLs. The result of this has caused every organization to heighten security awareness training for all employees, regardless of how many years of IT experience they may have. It’s becoming a common trend for these same companies to include picture images of previously successful phishing attack emails within the security awareness training programs. This is so the employees get a realistic image of what they might be seeing down the road.

As more hackers find increasing success with these ransomware attacks, organizations can expect these attacks to increase, possibly to triple this year. Proper security training used to be an afterthought; this type of haphazard thinking has turned into many organization’s worst nightmare. Never underestimate the length an attacker will go to in order to pad their bank account.