It's not ransomware, it's extortion!
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Watch the recording of this insightful webinar where we delved into the evolving landscape of Cyber Extortion (Cy-X), a sophisticated form of computer crime targeting the security of digital assets to extort payment. The data and research insights shared are published in our annual Cy-Xplorer 2024 report.
Since early 2020, Orange Cyberdefense has been rigorously tracking the Cy-X threat, amassing a comprehensive dataset of over 11,200 victims and combining it with technical insights from our CERT and CSIRT teams. This webinar will present unique findings on the scale, scope, nature, and trajectory of Cy-X threats based on our extensive research.
Key Highlights:
- Escalating Threat Landscape: Explore how the number of observable Cy-X victims has surged by 77% in the past 12 months, with 60 distinct threat actors responsible for over 4,374 victims.
- Undetected Victims: Understand our analysis suggesting the actual number of Cy-X victims may be at least 50% higher than recorded incidents.
- Global Impact: Discover how Cy-X has affected businesses in 75% of countries worldwide and across all 20 industries classified by NAICS, with small businesses being 4.2 times more frequently impacted than medium and large businesses combined, since 2020.
- Targeted Industries and IT Systems: Learn why manufacturing businesses are the most impacted globally through attacks on IT systems rather than operational technology (OT).
- Indiscriminate Harvesting vs. Targeted Attacks: Gain insights into why Cy-X often resembles an indiscriminate "harvest" of victims concentrated in English-speaking countries rather than targeted "Big Game Hunting."
- Impact of Generative AI: Evaluate the potential influence of Generative AI tools on the Cy-X threat landscape, including credible phishing and the global reach across language barriers.
- Economic, Sociological, and Cultural Context: Appreciate the broader system factors from which Cy-X emerges, beyond just technological aspects.
- Law Enforcement Efforts: Review new research documenting the impact of global law enforcement operations like Operation Cronos on disrupting Cy-X activities.
- Volatility of Cy-X Actor Ecosystem: Examine the high turnover within the Cy-X actor community, with about one-third disappearing annually and over half rebranding within six months.
- Re-Victimization of Cy-X Victims: Uncover research on the recurring victimization patterns, where victims are repeatedly shamed on Dedicated Leak Sites (DLS).
This webinar is a valuable session for cybersecurity professionals, business leaders, and anyone interested in understanding the complexities of the Cy-X threat landscape.
Watch on-demand now!
Technical thought leader, spokesman and figurehead for Orange Cyberdefense world-wide, leading and managing the OC Security Research Center - a specialist security research unit within the group that helps us fulfill our mission of being a trusted partner to our customers by ensuring that we identify, track, analyze, communicate and act upon significant developments in the security landscape.
Responsible for using that intelligence and the other data, systems and human resources at the group's disposal to make a meaningful contribution of data and knowledge to the global security community.
The Security Research Center supports the OC mission by providing systems, data, intelligence and material that enable sound decision making by other group units driving growth, demonstrate our knowledge, experience and skill to all our internal and external stakeholders, and ensuring consistency between the messages we portray outwardly and the way our products and services are designed and delivered internally.
With a strong background in Criminal Science, Diana is a Lead Security Researcher for Orange Cyberdefense. Among other projects she heads the companies efforts to track, analyze and report on current ransomware trends. Her primary interests and focus are on data analysis, researching cybercrime trends, victimology and the human element in cyber security.
Forensic Investigation and Incident Response, Risk Management, Information Security, IT Security Audit, IT Security Governance, Secure Programming, Pwning N00bs.
I have been working in IT security since 2001. After my apprenticeship I studied computer science, was a specialised SAP consultant for many years and left the IT sector in 2013. After some years as a triathlete, A-licence fitness trainer, lifeguard and civilian on the battlefield for the US Army and the German Federal Armed Forces; I had decided to start again in IT as a Cyber Security Analyst. I started in forensics as a DFIR consultant. Since June 2022, I have been working as a Security Analyst for Orange Cyberdefense in the Incident Response department. Within the Analyst-as-a-Service consulting, I'm an all-rounder, doing incident response and threat hunting as well as MITRE Detection Engineering and threat modelling. I mainly do IR in the OT space, but also in the IT environment.