Security News > 2020 > February > Echobot Malware Drives Significant Increase in OT Attacks
Attacks targeting operational technology infrastructure increased by over 2000 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year, and the piece of malware most commonly seen in these attacks was the Mirai variant named Echobot, IBM revealed on Tuesday.
Based on data derived from network event logs, IBM saw an increase of over 2000 percent in attacks targeting industrial control systems and other OT assets compared to 2018.
"EchoBot is a well documented and long-running malware variant with multiple capabilities. We are seeing sustained volumes of attacks and it's interesting to see that this broad-based malware is getting in on the action of targeting OT systems, suggesting a broader interest in this space," DeBeck explained.
The expert said IBM had not seen any Echobot attacks where the malware caused disruptions or other serious problems for the affected organizations.
The data analyzed by IBM for its latest report covers only attacks that were specifically targeting OT. "While these attacks may have been widespread, their targeting against OT was specific," DeBeck noted.
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