ESET Analysis
Closing intrusion vectors drive cybercriminals to revisit outdated assault avenues, but in addition to search for new methods to assault their victims
12 Sep 2023
Sextortion emails and different text-based threats have been on a large improve in H1 2023 and the query stays why. Are criminals simply lazy? Are they making an attempt to earn simple cash throughout their days off? Or is that this part of one thing greater, doubtlessly involving generative AI?
And that’s simply scratching the floor of the tendencies noticed within the newest ESET Menace Report, the main focus of this episode. One other intrusion vector that has seen elevated consideration from cybercriminals was MS SQL servers that needed to face up to a renewed improve in brute drive assaults.
Oh, and let’s not neglect the legal observe of usury, showing within the type of malicious Android apps. Trying to find victims within the nations across the equator and within the southern hemisphere, cybercriminals attempt to strain and threaten victims into paying exorbitant rates of interest on short-term loans – which generally, they don’t even present.
But, it wasn’t all unhealthy in H1 2023. One piece of fine information was that infamous Emotet botnet confirmed little exercise, operating only some minor and surprisingly ineffective spam campaigns in March. After these have been over, it went silent. What caught the eye of researchers was a brand new performance resembling a debugging output. This feeds into the rumors that Emotet has been – a minimum of partially – bought to a different menace group that’s not sure of how issues work.
One other optimistic story got here relating to Redline stealer. This infamous malware-as-a-service (MaaS) utilized by criminals to steal sufferer’s info and ship different malware has been disrupted by ESET researchers and their mates at Flare techniques. The disruption took down a series of GitHub repositories essential to run RedLine management panels for the associates. As there was no backup channel, operators behind the MaaS should discover a totally different path to run their “service”.
For all these matters and extra from ESET Menace Report, take heed to the most recent episode of ESET Analysis podcast, hosted by Aryeh Goretsky. This time, he directed his inquiries to one of many authors of the report, Safety Consciousness Specialist Ondrej Kubovič.
For the complete report from H1 2023, together with different matters equivalent to adjustments in cryptocurrency threats, malicious OneNote recordsdata, the primary double supply-chain assault – courtesy of Lazarus group – or the most recent developments within the ransomware scene, click on right here.
Mentioned:
- Sextortion and text-based threats 1:46
- Brute drive assaults on MS SQL servers 7:10
- Usury on Android apps 9:20
- Emotet exercise 13:25
- RedLine Stealer disruption 16:45
