Security News > 2020 > October > State-sponsored hackers and ransomware gangs are diversifying tactics to inflict more harm

Some of the world's most skilled nation-state cyber adversaries and notorious ransomware gangs are deploying an arsenal of new open-source tools, actively exploiting corporate email systems, and using online extortion to scare victims into paying ransoms, according to Accenture's 2020 Cyber Threatscape Report.

"Since COVID-19 radically shifted the way we work and live, we've seen a wide range of cyber adversaries changing their tactics to take advantage of new vulnerabilities," said Josh Ray, who leads Accenture Security's global cyber defense practice, in a statement.

Operating from Russia, the group, which Accenture refers to as BELUGASTURGEON, has been active for more than 10 years and is associated with numerous cyberattacks aimed at government agencies, foreign policy research firms and think tanks across the globe, according to the report.

Ransomware has quickly become a more lucrative business model in the past year, with cybercriminals taking online extortion to a new level by threatening to publicly release stolen data or sell it and name and shame victims on dedicated websites, the report said.

The criminals behind the Maze, Sodinokibi and DoppelPaymer ransomware strains are the pioneers of this growing tactic, which is delivering bigger profits and resulting in a wave of copycat actors and new ransomware peddlers, according to the Accenture report.

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