Crime Has Become Cybercrime

Cybercrime is in the headlines. - whether it is a ransomware attack, a huge data breach, theft of intellectual property, or the unavailability of service, ‘cyber’ is playing an increasingly important role for both enterprises and individuals alike.

Nowadays, nearly all crimes have an element of cyber to them and we’re seeing more ‘traditional’ criminals get into the cybercrime industry.

However, this isn’t just bandwagon jumping; there are actually some very good reasons why the world of cyber makes a lot of sense to criminals.

Lowering Barriers to Entry

Go back ten years or so and ‘hacking’ knowledge was limited to a few select individuals that understood technology. It wasn’t easy to find experts that were willing to be “hackers for hire”, and for those new to the industry, acquiring such skills wasn’t an easy task either.

However, in recent years, the barriers to entry have gotten significantly lower due to a few key factors:

1. Availability of online marketplaces. Online marketplaces have become commonplace and provide a convenient place where hackers for hire can advertise their skills to bidders. These can encompass a broad range of services such as DDoS attacks, botnets, and targeting of individuals or businesses, as well as custom services.

2. As-a-service. Taking a cue from legitimate businesses, cybercriminals are beginning to remodel their organizations for greater efficiency. This has resulted in the rise of “cyber-crime-as-a-service”. For example, Petya & Mischa ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) was launched in July 2016. This platform encourages distributors to generate high returns by enticing them with the cybercrime equivalent of performance bonuses.

If distributors generate less than five bitcoins in a given week, then they only earn 25% of the ransom paid. However, if the weekly payment is over 125 bitcoins, then they can potentially keep 85% of it. Through such initiatives, the RaaS business model has proven to be highly lucrative, for both the providers and the distributors, and there’s no sign that the these operations will go away anytime soon.

3. The rise of cryptocurrency. The third leg of the stool is made up of crypto currencies such as bitcoin, which allow payments to be made anonymously. This allows cyber-crime service providers to sell their wares easily, and also allows cyber-criminals to extort money from their victims more effectively.

Profit and Loss

Another aspect contributing to the rise in cybercrime is the increase in potential profits. The cyber-crime market is lucrative because of the extent to which things have gone digital. Everything from finance, to healthcare, to national infrastructure is connected in some way or another. On top of this, the introduction of IoT and smart devices has resulted in an explosion of connected devices, each of which presents a potential money-making opportunity for a clever hacker.

The abundance of connected devices gives criminals an advantage because there will always be unsecured, unpatched, or simply insecure targets. Attacks can be targeted against particular businesses, or can indiscriminately affect companies of all sizes and within all verticals.

There are also some cases where a criminal could potentially make as much profit targeting individual consumers as they could from attacking large enterprises. By targeting individuals, hackers further lower the bar to entry, as no pre-qualification needs to be done on the target.

Key Takeaways

The growing number of criminals taking advantage of lucrative cyber money-making opportunities will unfortunately only continue to grow. Therefore, it is more important than ever that enterprises and individuals take appropriate steps to protect themselves from cyber-attacks. Here are few tips to bear in mind:

  • User education and awareness is the first, and arguably the most important, line of defense. For example, knowing not to click on suspicious links could prevent a potential infection entirely.
  • Segregating critical systems and assets is also a good defensive measure. In the event that a user does click on a link, having segregated systems will prevent infections from spreading.
  • Have robust detection and response controls in place, which are enhanced by threat intelligence, is also critical so that infections can be detected quickly and remedial action taken immediately to minimise impact.
  • Finally, the importance of backup processes cannot be forgotten or neglected. If the worst does happen, it’s often better to wipe systems and reinstall from a clean, trusted backup than try to fix the mess.

CSO Online:

You Might Also Read:

Cyber Criminals Have Access To Weapons Grade Hacking Tools:

Police Can’t Reduce Cybecrime:

Cybercrime Is A Boardroom Issue:

 

 

« Is The US Constitutional Right To Free Speech Threatened Online?
IoT For Business & Creating 'Digital Twins' »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

TÜV SÜD Academy UK

TÜV SÜD Academy UK

TÜV SÜD offers expert-led cybersecurity training to help organisations safeguard their operations and data.

Practice Labs

Practice Labs

Practice Labs is an IT competency hub, where live-lab environments give access to real equipment for hands-on practice of essential cybersecurity skills.

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO is the market leader in HPE Non-Stop Security, Risk Management and Compliance.

Wallix

Wallix

Wallix is a software company offering privileged access management solutions for enterprises, public organizations and cloud service providers

Sentia

Sentia

Sentia is an IT and infrastructure firm, with focus on Outsourcing, IT operation and management, Hosting, Co-location, Network, and IT security.

Thinklogical

Thinklogical

Thinklogical manufactures secure, KVM, video, audio, and computer peripheral signal switching solutions for defence C4ISR applications.

DG Technology

DG Technology

DG Technology is a customer-centric technology expert and business consultant that delivers services and products to minimize your information security, compliance, and business risks.

Ivanti

Ivanti

Ivanti provide user-centered IT solutions designed to increase user productivity while reducing IT security risk.

QSecure

QSecure

QSecure specializes in the provision of information security and risk management services.

Satori Cyber

Satori Cyber

The Satori Cyber Secure Data Access Cloud is the first solution on the market to offer continuous visibility and granular control for data flows across all cloud and hybrid data stores.

Bechtle

Bechtle

Bechtle is one of Europe’s leading IT service providers offering a blend of direct IT product sales and extensive systems integration services.

Symptai Consulting

Symptai Consulting

Symptai Consulting is a leading Cyber Security, Digital Transformation and Anti-Money Laundering firm serving the Caribbean and the wider world.

PacketViper

PacketViper

PacketViper’s Deception360 actively defends networks with deception-based threat detection and automated response to both external and internal cyber threats.

Core4ce

Core4ce

Core4ce is a mission-oriented company that serves as a trusted partner to the national security community.

Ignite Cyber

Ignite Cyber

IGNITE Cyber is focused on enabling secure technology adoption through intelligent business decisions. We are focused on providing a secure and stable business environment for everyone.

Invisily

Invisily

Invisily makes enterprise and cloud computing resources invisible to attackers with zero trust solutions, making them visible only when needed to only those who need them.

Qryptonic

Qryptonic

Qryptonic pioneers next-generation cybersecurity by leveraging the unparalleled capabilities of quantum computing to defend against evolving threats.

Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF)

Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF)

FCRF is a Non-Profit NGO specializing in Research in Cyber Security, Digital Crime, Fraud Risk Management, Cyber Laws and Cyber Forensics.

Harness

Harness

Harness delivers an end-to-end software delivery platform that helps engineering teams achieve the highest levels of engineering excellence.