Chennai: Quick Heal Technologies Limited, has released its threat predictions that will share the future of cybersecurity in 2021 and beyond.
In a statement, it said, “Previously, advanced ransomware attacks like WannaCry, Petya, Ryuk, Grandcrab etc. used to only encrypt disks or files and demand a ransom payment in return for a decryption key. Now a new ransomware trend is observed which not only encrypts user files but also exfiltrates private and sensitive information. On denial of ransom, adversaries threaten to release hijacked information in public.”
Numerous hospitals, Covid-19 research firms, and pharma companies have fallen victim to ransomware in the last quarter of ‘20, making it necessary for them to adopt or deploy a comprehensive set of security solutions.
Cobalt Strike is a threat emulation toolkit that is often being used for post-exploitation, covert communication, and browser pivoting, among other malicious purposes.
With the Covid-19 pandemic, almost all organisations have rolled out a remote working model, businesses have introduced tools to facilitate employees to connect to office networks from home and collaborate.
This new infrastructure must be managed and configured with great precision.
The booming cryptocurrency values will invite even more threat actors towards developing stealthier crypto-miners and generate higher revenues in 2021.
Himanshu Dubey, director, Quick Heal Security Labs, said, “The pandemic acted as a huge opportunity for cyber criminals to innovate their attack strategies further, and steal sensitive data for their personal gain. These advancements are likely to continue in the coming year as well. For instance, new tactics like double extortion, crypto-mining, ethical hacking, etc. are expected to be widely adopted by threat actors in 2021”.