Subj : Hackers are getting smarter - and even going malware-free in some
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Wed Mar 01 2023 13:15:03

Hackers are getting smarter - and even going malware-free in some cases

Date:
Wed, 01 Mar 2023 13:09:44 +0000

Description:
Hackers are getting faster and more sophisticated,  CrowdStrike suggests.

FULL STORY
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Cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated by the day, and in many cases 
these days - going malware -free in their hacking attacks, new research has 
claimed. 

The 2023 CrowdStrike Global Threat Report from cybersecurity experts 
CrowdStrike, based on data from trillions of daily events from the 
CrowdStrike Falcon platform and CrowdStrike Falcon OverWatch products, claims 
almost three in four (71%) of attacks that were detected in 2022 were 
malware-free, up from 62% just a year ago. 

Interactive intrusions, which require hands-on keyboard activity, also 
increased by 50% year-on-year, the researchers said, which outlines how 
sophisticated human adversaries increasingly look to evade antivirus 
protection and outsmart fully automated defense mechanisms. Increasing 
sophistication 

Also, average breakout time is now 84 minutes (down from 98 minutes a year 
ago), which means cybercriminals are getting faster. 

Drilling deeper into the state of cybercrime, CrowdStrike discovered that the 
value and demand for identity and access credentials keeps growing, rising by 
112% in 2022, compared to 2021. Cloud exploitation grew by 95%, while the 
number of cases involving cloud-conscious threat actors nearly tripled in the 
same timeframe. 

The past 12 months brought a unique combination of threats to the forefront 
of security. Splintered eCrime groups re-emerged with greater sophistication, 
relentless threat actors sidestepped patched or mitigated vulnerabilities, 
and the feared threats of the Russia-Ukraine conflict masked more sinister 
and successful traction by a growing number of China-nexus adversaries, said 
Adam Meyers, head of intelligence at CrowdStrike. Read more 

> Chinese hackers snooped on US telco traffic for years 


 > NSA warns Citrix devices are under attack from Chinese hackers, so update 
now 


 > These are the best firewalls right now 

Todays threat actors are smarter, more sophisticated, and more well-resourced 
than they have ever been in the history of cybersecurity. Only by 
understanding their rapidly evolving tradecraft, techniques and objectives  
and by embracing technology fueled by the latest threat intelligence  can 
companies remain one step ahead of todays increasingly relentless 
adversaries. 

The number of hacking groups is growing at great speeds, the researchers 
further said, claiming that 33 new adversaries were introduced in 2022. That 
was, according to the paper, the biggest increase the researchers ever 
observed in a year. Among these threat actors are SCATTERED SPIDER and SLIPPY 
SPIDER, two groups behind many recent high-profile attacks on 
telecommunication, BPO, and tech companies. 

Furthermore, hackers are still using known vulnerabilities and older tools. 
Log4Shell continues to be a huge liability, as well as ProxyNotShell, and 
Follina. Here's our rundown of the best endpoint protection tools right now



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/news/hackers-are-getting-smarter-and-even-going-malw
are-free-in-some-cases


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