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How psychological pressure has become the main lever of modern cyber attacks.
During the Google Security Threat Intelligence meeting held as part of the RSA conference in San Francisco, it became known about new, very disturbing methods of psychological pressure that cybercriminals use in their ransomware attacks.
Charles Karmakal, technical director of Mandiant, spoke about cases when attackers made voice calls to company managers, imitating their children's mobile numbers using phone spoofing or SIM swapping.
"Think about the psychological dilemma that a supervisor faces when they see a phone call from their child, but hear someone else's voice as soon as they pick up the phone," Karmakal said, hinting that in this case, each parent is likely to agree to any conditions of intruders, just to protect their children. children.
"This is the next step in the evolution of ransomware tactics, which has now gone far beyond simply encrypting files and stealing their data," Karmakal explained. "Criminals have now moved from simple attacks against companies, their customers and data, to attacks that are more targeted at ordinary people."
The problem of extortion is particularly acute for hospitals,biotech firms and other organizations in the healthcare sector, whose IT departments have significant amounts of sensitive information.
Meanwhile, according to Sandra Joyce, head of global intelligence at Mandiant, the decision to pay a ransom under pressure from ransomware can be a violation of OFAC requirements, especially if the payment goes to a country under sanctions. All of this presents managers with impossible choices.
John Hultqvist, chief analyst at Mandiant, points to the transformation of digital crime: from banking and retail, it has grown into a global problem affecting all sectors of the economy. According to him, the development of cryptocurrencies has simplified the monetization of digital crimes, which has led to an escalation from simple violations to systematic extortion.
Such changes in ransomware methods not only complicate the task of protecting data, but also lead to a revision of the security priorities of many companies: from focusing on protecting systems and data to improving the security of employees and their families.
During the Google Security Threat Intelligence meeting held as part of the RSA conference in San Francisco, it became known about new, very disturbing methods of psychological pressure that cybercriminals use in their ransomware attacks.
Charles Karmakal, technical director of Mandiant, spoke about cases when attackers made voice calls to company managers, imitating their children's mobile numbers using phone spoofing or SIM swapping.
"Think about the psychological dilemma that a supervisor faces when they see a phone call from their child, but hear someone else's voice as soon as they pick up the phone," Karmakal said, hinting that in this case, each parent is likely to agree to any conditions of intruders, just to protect their children. children.
"This is the next step in the evolution of ransomware tactics, which has now gone far beyond simply encrypting files and stealing their data," Karmakal explained. "Criminals have now moved from simple attacks against companies, their customers and data, to attacks that are more targeted at ordinary people."
The problem of extortion is particularly acute for hospitals,biotech firms and other organizations in the healthcare sector, whose IT departments have significant amounts of sensitive information.
Meanwhile, according to Sandra Joyce, head of global intelligence at Mandiant, the decision to pay a ransom under pressure from ransomware can be a violation of OFAC requirements, especially if the payment goes to a country under sanctions. All of this presents managers with impossible choices.
John Hultqvist, chief analyst at Mandiant, points to the transformation of digital crime: from banking and retail, it has grown into a global problem affecting all sectors of the economy. According to him, the development of cryptocurrencies has simplified the monetization of digital crimes, which has led to an escalation from simple violations to systematic extortion.
Such changes in ransomware methods not only complicate the task of protecting data, but also lead to a revision of the security priorities of many companies: from focusing on protecting systems and data to improving the security of employees and their families.
