As cybercriminals try to become more and more sophisticated, they are turning away from their adversaries. They are turning back on their hacking attacks without even using any malware as part of their hacking campaigns, according to new research.
This report, published by cybersecurity experts CrowdStrike, reveals that almost three out of four attacks detected in 2022 were malware-free, a significant increase over the 62% figure that was reported just a year ago based on “data from trillions of daily events” from CrowdStrike Falcon platforms and CrowdStrike Falcon OverWatch products.
This is why researchers have reported a 50% increase in interactive intrusions. These intrusions require the user to tinker with the keyboard, according to the researchers. This illustrates how sophisticated human adversaries are increasingly looking for ways to evade antivirus protection and outwit fully automated defenses.
Intensification of Sophistication
As CrowdStrike conducted a deeper exploration of cybercrime, they discovered that to combat cybercriminals, identity credentials, and access credentials remain valuable and in high demand. Comparing 2022 to 2021, this is expected to increase by 112% in comparison to the previous year. In the same timeframe, the number of cases involving threat actors who have adopted a cloud-oriented approach has nearly tripled while cloud awareness has grown by 95%.
A combination of threats of unprecedented magnitude has come to the forefront of security over the past 12 months.
Several splintered cybercrime groups emerged with greater sophistication in the past year, relentless threat actors have spied on patched vulnerabilities, and a growing number of Chinese-nexus adversaries have gained traction against the feared Russia-Ukraine conflict by masking the feared threats,” said Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike's head of intelligence.
It is important to remember that today's threat actors are more sophisticated, more resourceful, and more well-funded than ever before. To remain one step ahead of today's increasingly relentless adversaries, companies are going to need to understand their rapidly evolving tactics, techniques, and objectives and embrace the latest technology nourished by threat intelligence that will allow them to remain on top of today's increasingly persistent adversaries.
Researchers claim that there are now 33 new adversaries on the scene in 2022, which means that the number of hacking groups is growing at an astonishing rate. As per the paper, this was one of the largest increases seen in just over a year, according to the publication. One of the most well-known threats that are being launched against telecommunications, BPO, and tech companies is SCATTERED SPIDER, a group behind many recent high-profile attacks on companies in these sectors.
Aside from that, hackers are still using old tools and known vulnerabilities that were discovered years ago. As ProxyNotShell, and Follina, have all continued to be huge liabilities for the IT department, Log4Shell remains a key culprit.
Hacker Operations and Protection
Computer threats are the result of human action, not the actions of computers. Computer predator takes advantage of others who are vulnerable to them to benefit themselves. You can imagine the scale of the threat to your security that a predator poses when he gains access to the Internet - and also to your PC.
An illegal computer hacker is a person who unauthorized enters your computer system with the intent of stealing, changing, or destroying your data, often by installing dangerous malware on your computer without your knowledge or consent.
Through clever strategies and the use of their expertise, they can access information that you would like to keep private.
In What Ways Can Hackers Harm?
Several different types of malware have been installed on your computer by hackers. This malware quietly transmits your personal and financial information without your knowledge or consent, while your computer is connected to the Internet. Then again, the private information you unwittingly divulge on your computer could potentially be gathered by a computer predator. Both scenarios will allow them to be able to perform the following tasks:
- Passwords and usernames can be stolen by hackers.
- Taking advantage of you by stealing your money and opening bank accounts and credit cards on your behalf.
