Europol Identifies The Top Cyber Threats

Uploaded on 2023-09-22 in GOVERNMENT-Law Enforcement, FREE TO VIEW

Europol has just published a new threat report that highlights malware-based ransomware cyber attacks that are a major threat, and that ransomware affiliate programs have become the main form of crime for ransomware groups.

The report states: “Cyber criminals usually gain initial access through compromised user credentials or by exploiting vulnerabilities in the targeted infrastructure... Malware-based cyber-attacks, specifically ransomware, remain the most prominent threat with a broad reach and a significant financial impact on industry."

Of particular importance is how ransomware affiliate programs have become established as the main business model for ransomware groups who continue deploying multi-layered extortion methods, with indications that the theft of sensitive information might become the core threat.”

The most common intrusion tactics include phishing emails containing malware, remote desktop protocol (RDP) brute forcing, and virtual private network (VPN) vulnerability exploitation.

The report details that after Microsoft blocked the option to deliver macros over the Internet in their applications, cyber criminals have shifted to using container files. Nevertheless, victims can still be infected with droppers through Internet search engines, where users are lured with search engine optimisation (SEO) keywords to download malware disguised as a legitimate program or tool.

It is also important to note the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the process, which according to the report has led to a “significant boost” in DDoS attacks against targets in the EU and the highest profile attacks were politically motivated and coordinated by pro-Russian hacker groups. Recent examples include large-scale assaults on Poland and Lithuania.

Furthermore, the war in Ukraine, mass mobilisation in Russia, and Western sanctions have pushed some previously untouchable cyber criminals in the region to flee to jurisdictions in the EU. Among these was the creator of a data theft malware called “RacoonStealer”. This was a malware-as-a-service product sold to clients for $200 a month in crypto currencies and is thought to have been used to steal data and empty the digital currency wallets of more than two million victims.

Europol is also now making sexual exploitation a cyber crime priority as the web has enabled offenders to interact with each other online and obtain indecent material of children in volumes that were unimaginable 10 years ago.

The report concludes with a warning that cyber attacks are expected to increase as a criminal threat affecting the EU and that cyber criminals are likely to further embrace new technologies and maximise the reach of their services, with sensitive data as a core target.

Europol: Europol: Interpol: I-HLS: Professioanl Security: Cybernews: Computer Weekly:

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