Q3 2024: Over Half A Million Cyber Attacks On Critical Infrastructure

Blackberry has released its latest Global Threat Intelligence Report which looks at new trends in the cyber security threat landscape. Between July and September 2024.

Over the period, BlackBerry detected 600,000 attacks against critical infrastructure, 45 percent of which targeted the financial sector. They also detected 430,000 attacks against private sector organisations.  

The Report examines the behaviours of dangerous, lesser- known, threat actors and trends in their methodologies and motivations. In particular, the report  addresses threats in telecommunications infrastructure, highlighting strategies to better protect personal devices and secure communication best practices.  

The report also features insights from a continued partnership between BlackBerry and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s National Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (NC3). Together, the two organisations share intelligence on the rise of new ransomware groups, top ransomware threats, and challenges for law enforcement in combatting cyber attacks. 

In comment, Ismael Valenzuela, Vice President of Threat Research & Intelligence at BlackBerry said “Our attack surface has never been wider, with threat actors and nation states broadening their horizons into cyber espionage attacks, while ransomware groups are becoming more sophisticated in their campaigns, however, we’ve also never been better prepared...We have the tools, technology, and protocols to protect ourselves and mitigate the impact of attacks, and our industry is equipped to keep up with changes in threat actor methodology.” 

Additional highlights from the latest BlackBerry Global Threat Intelligence Report include: 

• North America and Latin America are the Most Targeted Nations Globally: These nations saw the highest volume of attacks and most instances of unique malware. APAC and EMEA were the second and third most targeted regions, respectively. 

• Emerging Threats Are Increasingly Dangerous: BlackBerry internal telemetry identified activity related to Lynx ransomware, the Coyote banking trojan, and threat groups RansomHub and Hunter’s International. 

• Deepfake Threats Continue to Rise: The growing use of AI-based scams has led to new regulatory frameworks nationwide to mitigate the impact, including the US No AI Fraud Act and the Canadian non-consensual media legislation. 

• Geopolitical Influences are Creating Concerning Threats: BlackBerry analysts found that cybercrime is being used in human trafficking rings in Southeast Asia, and North Korean operatives are using deepfake technology and fake identities to infiltrate Western IT companies. 

You can download Bleackberry's  Global Threat Intelligence Report Here:

Image: @BlackBerry

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