There were new revelations this quarter concerning complex nationstate cyberattack campaigns targeting users and enterprise systems worldwide .
With the rise in value of cryptocurrencies , the market forces are driving criminals to cryptojacking and the theft of cryptocurrency .
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New research from McAfee has revealed how cybercriminals are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency mining and cryptojacking . The report also explores the latest malware , ransomware and other threats .
CRIMINALS ‘ INFECT AND COLLECT ’ IN CRYPTOCURRENCY MINING SURGE
McAfee , the device-to-cloud cybersecurity company , has released its McAfee Labs Threats Report : June 2018 , examining the growth and trends of new malware , ransomware and other threats in Q1 2018 .
McAfee Labs saw on average five new threat samples every second , including growth in cryptojacking and other cryptocurrency mining malware , as well as notable campaigns demonstrating a deliberate drive to technically improve upon the most sophisticated established attacks of 2017 .
“ There were new revelations this quarter concerning complex nationstate cyberattack campaigns targeting users and enterprise systems worldwide ,” said Raj Samani , Chief Scientist at McAfee .
“ Bad actors demonstrated a remarkable level of technical agility and innovation in tools and tactics . Criminals continued to adopt cryptocurrency mining to easily monetise their criminal activity .”
Cybercriminals extended their operations in cryptojacking and other cryptocurrency mining schemes ,
There were new revelations this quarter concerning complex nationstate cyberattack campaigns targeting users and enterprise systems worldwide .
With the rise in value of cryptocurrencies , the market forces are driving criminals to cryptojacking and the theft of cryptocurrency .
where perpetrators hijack victims ’ browsers or infect their systems to secretly use them to mine for legitimate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin .
This category of coin miner malware grew a stunning 629 % in the first quarter of 2018 , rocketing from around 400,000 total known samples in Q4 2017 to more than 2.9 million the next quarter .
This suggests that cybercriminals are continuing to warm to the prospect of simply infecting users ’ systems and collecting payments without having to rely on third parties to monetise their crimes .
“ Cybercriminals will gravitate to criminal activity that maximises their profit ,” said Steve Grobman , Chief Technology Officer at McAfee .
“ In recent quarters we have seen a shift to ransomware from data-theft , as ransomware is a more efficient crime . With the rise in value of cryptocurrencies , the market forces are driving criminals to cryptojacking and the theft of cryptocurrency . Cybercrime is a business and market forces will continue to shape where adversaries focus their efforts .”
Security incidents
McAfee Labs counted 313 publicly disclosed security incidents in Q1 2018 , a 41 % increase over Q4 . Incidents involving multiple sectors ( 37 ) and those targeting multiple regions ( 120 ) were the leading types of incidents in Q1 . u
22 Issue 04 | www . intelligentciso . com