Security News > 2021 > June > Ransomware decreases as cybercriminals hit more lucrative targets

The quarter saw cyber adversaries shift from low-return, mass-spread ransomware campaigns toward fewer, customized Ransomware-as-a-Service campaigns targeting larger, more lucrative organizations.

A proliferation in 64-bit CoinMiner applications drove the growth of cryptocurrency-generating coin mining malware by 117%. Additionally, a surge in the growth of new Mirai-based malware variants drove increases in malware targeting Internet of Things and Linux systems.

Ransomware declined by 50% in Q1 due in part to a shift by attackers from broad campaigns attacking many targets with the same samples to campaigns attacking fewer, larger targets with unique samples.

Campaigns using one type of ransomware to infect and extort payments from many victims are notoriously "Noisy" in that hundreds of thousands of systems will, in time, begin to recognize and block these attacks.

While prominent ransomware attacks have focused attention on how criminals use ransomware to monetize their crimes with payments in cryptocurrency, a first quarter 117% surge in the spread of cryptocurrency-generating coin mining malware can be attributed to a sharp spike in 64-bit CoinMiner applications.

Once exploited, the malware is hidden on the system, downloads later stages of the malware and connects with the command-and-control server.

News URL

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HelpNetSecurity/~3/kV0ug61ZTXY/