Cyber-demic Update

November 2021

A monthly digest on the impact of COVID-19 in the cybersecurity space in particular to the vaccine rollout, remote working and rise of new threat vectors.?

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Dark Web Criminals Go Dark

Several developments as of late in the dark web…If you didn’t know about White House Market – not to be confused with the retail store – they were the go-to?online marketplace?for illegal drugs and fraudulent credit cards…Reports say it had established itself as one of the most popular and secure markets on the dark web so hackers were shocked when it unexpectedly closed on October 1…I love the formality of these folks, the site had a “resignation letter” saying they had “reached our goal” and that “now, according to plan,” the site was shutting down…In other sad news, the BlackMatter ransomware gang is allegedly shutting down due to “pressure from authorities”…I expect the gang to pop up again, however.

Authorities Cracking Down?????????

There has been a lot of movement to stop cybercriminals lately, hence the above noted hackers taking a break…It was announced that U.S. officials seized more than $6 million in crypto and arrested two hackers that are accused of leading the REvil ransomware attacks this summer…It could be like playing the lottery in terms of the likelihood of earning the money but if you have any information, the U.S. Department of State is trying to increase efforts against?ransomware?by offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that helps identify or track down leaders of the notorious DarkSide ransomware group…Last week, the Federal Trade Commission released a final rule amending the Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (commonly referred to as the “Safeguards Rule”), which requires financial institutions to make significant changes in their information security programs shifting towards more prescriptive requirements for information security…However, instead of more legislation we need more enforcement of said rules. ?

How 2021 Is Shaping Up

The year-end recaps are coming…A few interesting tidbits…Identity Theft Resource Center reported 2021 will be a record year for data breaches up 17 percent so far from 2021…Advisen reported findings from a survey of 250 CISOs that ransomware is their number 1 threat in 2021…53 percent suffered attacked in 2020 and 69 percent predict they will have an attack this year…This number is actually probably much higher…SC Magazine reported that 40 percent of organizations globally were hit by a cloud data breach in 2021…Experian’s Global Insight Report said consumers were on line 25 percent more in 2021 than last year, which means more potential victims for hackers…We’ll see a perfect storm coming soon with the cyberdemic, supply chain issues and holiday shopping…Read my colleague Brian Stack’s post for more on the topic. ?