New Cyber Threats Threaten Business Stability

31st January 2022

Image

During the lockdown, cybercriminals were more aggressive in their actions, undermining business stability and operations. 

But as businesses adapted to the new reality, they utilised stronger defences that accounted for the new norm, and eventually, were able to reduce the relentless onslaught against their network and data. 

Cybercriminals, however, constantly find new technologies and techniques to undermine business security and illegally obtain data. 

According to the NSC guidance publications, established to help UK businesses keep their cybersecurity defences up to date, there are at least two new types of cyberattacks that can breach defences if they are not accounted for. 

Researchers discover new cyberattack

A new form of ransomware attack, White Rabbit ransomware, has been detected. Researchers who discovered the cyberattack named it after the crime group that first used it on a US bank in December 2021. 

The White Rabbit ransomware threat is considerable because it is far more subtle and harder to detect than other social engineering attacks. 

The cyberattack uses a payload binary that requires a specific command-line password to decrypt its internal configuration before executing the ransomware routine. 

Hiding behind a payload binary makes the White Rabbit payload inconspicuous at first glance because the file is around 100KB with no notable strings, making it hard to detect.

Authorities issue a warning over QR code scam

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued an alert over the malicious use of QR codes. 

Cybercriminals are tampering with QR codes to redirect users from legitimate websites to fraudulent ones to steal customer data and money. 

Over the past few years, businesses have been using QR codes to offer their services, but the mechanism can be exploited to embed malware onto a user's device.

Suspected victims are expected to report to regional authorities such as Action Fraud in England or Police Scotland. 

Preparing for future cyberattacks 

With malicious cyber threats on the rise, keeping cyber defences up to date is important to ensure the continued protection of networks, systems, and data—particularly because cybercriminals are devising new cyberattacks and adapting existing cyberattacks to gain entry into systems. 

To ensure security, organisations should monitor all their channels and employ attack surface management, particularly in customer-facing systems such as QR systems.