Intelligent CISO Issue 31 | Page 19

For some time , the most targeted country for malicious files , using COVID as a lure , was Spain and that was unexpected .
cyber trends

For some time , the most targeted country for malicious files , using COVID as a lure , was Spain and that was unexpected .

PDF . To track these campaigns , McAfee Advanced Programs Group ( APG ) has published a COVID-19 Threat Dashboard , which includes top threats leveraging the pandemic , most targeted verticals and countries and most utilised threat types and volume over time .
“ Cybersecurity cannot be solved by cookie cutter approaches . Each organisation is unique and has specific intelligence requirements and objectives ,” said Patrick Flynn , Head of McAfee APG . “ The McAfee COVID-19 Threat Dashboard utilises data to create true analysed intelligence , which allows users to understand the total threat environment , informing them of potential threats before they are weaponised .”
Data breaches : The new ransomware attack
Over the course of the first quarter of 2020 , McAfee Advanced Threat Research ( ATR ) observed malicious actors focused on sectors where availability and integrity are fundamental , for example manufacturing , law and construction firms .
“ No longer can we call these attacks just ransomware incidents . When actors have access to the network and steal the data prior to encrypting it , threatening to leak if you don ’ t pay , that is a data breach ,” said Christiaan Beek , Senior Principal Engineer and Lead Scientist .
“ Using either weakly protected Remote Desktop Protocol or stolen credentials from the underground , we have observed malicious actors moving at light speed to learn the network of their victims and effectively steal and then encrypt their data .” www . intelligentciso . com | Issue 31
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