Looking at The Future of Ransomware Threats

Diving into the details

• The RaaS model has changed the ransomware landscape and it is anticipated that it will become modular and uniform with attack specialists providing multiple kinds of ‘as-a-service’ offerings. 
• Dropper, loaders, initial access brokers, adware, and spam, among other established cyberthreats, will expand and adjust to the ever-evolving cyberthreat landscape. This trend was first observed in Gootloader that adopted a hybrid attack model. 
• Multiple extortion tactics are expected to rise in intensity and range. Sophos cataloged 10 different types of pressure tactics. 
• Cryptomining activity is to continue as cryptocurrency rises in popularity. Just recently, scammers were found weaponizing Google Ads to steal cryptocurrency wallets. In only a matter of days, more than $500,000 worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen. 

Latest ransomware news

• The Magniber ransomware group has started abusing two flaws in Internet Explorer, tracked as CVE-2021-26411 and CVE-2021-40444, both with a severity score of 8.8. The gang is infamous for exploiting bugs to breach systems and deploy ransomware. 
• The FBI issued a warning about ransomware gangs targeting organizations associated with time-sensitive events, such as mergers and acquisitions. They would use the financial information obtained to pressure the victims into paying the ransom. 
• Earlier this month, the Chaos ransomware group was targeting Japanese Minecraft gamers. It encrypts some data and deletes some, making recovery a humongous challenge. 

What else did the report find?

• Sophos suspects that attempts to mass-exploit IT admin tools and exploitable internet-facing services will continue to rise. 
• Threat actors are likely to increase abusing Cobalt Strike, PowerSploit, and Mimikatz. 
• The growing interest in Linux systems is expected to surge. Botnets such as Mirai will take advantage of software vulnerabilities and default passwords in IoT devices. 
• Mobile malware and social engineering scams are anticipated to evolve and keep organizations and individuals at their toes. 

The bottom line