Published: December 15, 2023 on our newsletter Security Fraud News & Alerts Newsletter.
The Secureworks Counter Threat Unit (CTU) recently dropped some major news. They discovered a whopping 670% surge in stolen logs on the online marketplace called Russian Market. It's all outlined in a report they named "The Growing Threat From Infostealers." This revelation shines a light on the world of infostealer malware, which plays a big role in making cybercrime such as ransomware attacks possible.
According to Secureworks, it's becoming tougher than ever to detect and remove these sneaky threats because the bad guys are getting smarter, and the malware is easier to get their hands on.
The report also reveals that in less than nine months, the logs up for sale on Russian Market shot up by a mind-blowing 150%, up from two million in June 2022 to over five million by late February 2023.
And it doesn't stop there. There's now a booming market for tools that help crooks parse through these logs after the dirty work is done. As the demand for infostealers and logs continues to skyrocket, the criminals are finding new and sneaky ways to trick people into installing them. Think fake apps and cloned websites.
Even with all the recent law enforcement action against illegal Tor networks and markets, some of these Tor websites are still up and running. Tor, by the way, is a fancy name for a hidden network that anyone can access. It's like a secret online club where you can browse anonymously and securely. This is why law enforcement is so challenged trying to stop cybercrime such as this.
So, what does all this mean for us regular folks? Well, it means we can't afford to slack off when it comes to cybersecurity. Phishing attacks are still happening all the time, so keep your guard up! Watch out for those classic phishing red flags like typos, wonky graphics, bad grammar, urgent messages pressuring you to act fast, and anything that looks fishy coming from an unknown sender or that you weren't expecting.
Stay cyber-savvy, my friends, and browse safely out there!
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