Ransomware attacks have never been more common, according to a new report by cybersecurity researchers Securin, Ivanti and Cyware.
The alert says that new groups of ransomware are constantly emerging and new vulnerabilities are discovered almost daily, but of all the different devices and software, Microsoft’s products are the most under attack.
Overall, attackers are currently targeting more than 7,000 products from 121 vendors, all of which are used by companies in their daily operations. Researchers say most of the products belong to Microsoft, which has 135 ransomware vulnerabilities. There is a complete MITER ATT&CK kill chain for 59 vulnerabilities that includes two brand new vulnerabilities. The report stated that eighteen vulnerabilities were not detected by antivirus programs.
More hacker groups
In March 2023 alone, more breaches were reported than in all three previous years combined. It should also be mentioned that most cybersecurity incidents are never reported. In the first quarter of the year, researchers discovered 12 new vulnerabilities used in ransomware attacks, three-quarters of which (73%) involved the dark web.
The number of vulnerabilities discovered in open source software (OSS) is also growing and now counts 119 vulnerabilities related to ransomware attacks. As OSS is used by more and more companies, it is an “extremely pressing issue,” the researchers concluded.
Currently, 52 groups are involved in ransomware attacks since DEV-0569 and Karakurt entered the fray.
If you think the situation is worse than ever – wait a few months, because scientists believe that it will be much worse soon.
According to Srinivas Mukkamali, product director at Ivanti, once artificial intelligence (AI) starts to be (over)used on a large scale, cyberattacks will become even more devastating.
“We are only now beginning to see how cybercrime groups are using AI to carry out their attacks,” he says. “With the fact that polymorphic malware attacks and co-pilots for offensive computing become a reality, the situation will only get more complicated. in the wild, it’s only a matter of time before ransomware writers use AI to expand the list of vulnerabilities and exploits they exploit. This global challenge requires a global response to truly fight cybercriminals and keep them at bay.”