BotNet News

Cyberthreat News | A weekly review of the latest cybersecurity threats, trends and best practices.

Cyberattacks are a serious threat to the global financial system, and can undermine confidence in its integrity. Two ongoing trends exacerbate the risk: the rapid shift by banks and technology companies to online services and the COVID-19 pandemic’s accelerated growth of remote working.

A growing number of cyber criminals are attacking businesses, hospitals and other organisations with malware such as phishing scams, man-in-the-middle attacks and denial-of-service attacks. They are also stepping up their attack against utilities and other critical infrastructure companies.

These attackers are looking for ways to get access to systems to steal data, disrupt services or hold them hostage. They are targeting smaller firms that may be less prepared to defend themselves. They know that many small and midsize businesses consider the cost of proactive cyber security too high or think that they are too small to attract the attention of cyber criminals. However, they are mistaken. Small businesses are the victims of 43% of cyberattacks, and they suffer large blows to their bottom lines and reputations when attacked.

The use of ‘off the shelf’ tools means that even less technically proficient criminals are able to perpetrate these types of attacks. This has facilitated new crimes like cryptomining, which targets digital currencies such as Bitcoin. And the increasing technical capabilities of malware are enabling it to do more damage and create new problems, such as the recent ransomware attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline and caused gas shortages on the East Coast.