Greg Foss

Wherever there is disruption, cyber criminals see opportunity. Alongside the devastating health and economic impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic, we have also seen a huge escalation in ransomware attacks as people shifted to working from home. VMware Carbon Black threat researchers have recorded a 900% year on year increase in ransomware attacks in the first half of 2020. Attacks are not only more frequent, they are also more sophisticated, as adversaries strive to maximise the revenue potential from each hit. As modular and more extensive malware has become ubiquitous, adversaries are diversifying and adopting more strategic and multi-stage tactics.…

Ransomware has come a long way since the first recorded attack was initiated via a floppy disk posted out to attendees of the World Health Organisation’s international AIDS conference in 1989. As the world navigates a different global health crisis more than thirty years on, ransomware has proved to be an infection that has not only survived in the intervening period, but grown exponentially as ransomware groups have evolved in tactical expertise and sophistication. As 2020 dawned, organised ransomware groups were already engaging in targeted hands-on campaigns designed to generate maximum revenue from victims. However, in the spring the ransomware market opportunity got even bigger as the rapid switch to mass home-working necessitated by COVID-19 work from home orders created the perfect, disrupted environment for ransomware attacks. Consequently, attack…