Cybercriminals aren’t just people hiding in their basements, hacking away at your networks and devices. In fact, that term covers a wide variety of professionals with “business” skills, including those who teach and recruit, handle money laundering, and offer escrow services.

According to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s The Business of Hacking white paper, the cybercriminal underground includes:

  • People who perform human resources tasks like recruiting and background checks
  • Experts who help market and sell exploited compromised data
  • Others act as middlemen in anonymous transactions

Why Cybercriminals Are Increasingly Catching Businesses Off Guard

Underneath the headline-grabbing infractions that target smaller businesses, is a steady stream of cybercrime that is only getting worse. Small businesses are preyed upon because they often lack security measures, allowing criminals to escape capture.

Large businesses have the resources to employ cybersecurity specialists, security guards, intricate monitoring systems, and cutting-edge entry devices in the real world.

Small businesses are in danger because they frequently do not have enough funding to dedicate to security measures and do not fully appreciate the spectrum of risks they face. Many small businesses also disregard the value of the data they store because they believe no one cares. Many cybercriminals also lack the skills and determination to attempt to breach the defenses, despite the vast array of attack avenues a major organization offers.

Compromise of business email is also becoming increasingly prevalent. BEC entails the danger star employing techniques like phishing to acquire credentials and penetrate the network under the garb of a legitimate user. From there, they hang out and observe the CEO’s engagement strategy, timetable, supplier relationships, and billing systems.

We have seen cybercrimes proliferate during the pandemic, as cybercriminals catch businesses off guard during this difficult time.

3 Events Highlighted by The Interpol

There has been an inadvertently high number of the following types of cyber activity:

Online Scams and Phishing: Threat actors have updated their standard phishing and online fraud tactics. Cybercriminals use COVID-19-themed phishing emails to lure victims into submitting their personal information and downloading dangerous software by frequently posing as government and health officials.

Data Harvesting Malware: Cybercriminals use malware that collects data, including banking Trojans, spyware, info stealers, and Remote Access Trojans. Threat actors enter systems to attack networks, steal data, redirect funds, and create botnets using material connected to COVID-19 as bait.

Malicious Domains: Cybercriminals have boosted the number of domain names they register that contain phrases like “coronavirus” or “COVID” by taking advantage of the rising demand for medical supplies and information about COVID-19. A private-sector partner found and reported to INTERPOL a 569% increase in harmful registrations, such as malware and phishing, and a 788% increase in high-risk registrations from February to March 2020.

In Conclusion

Recruiting is undoubtedly a challenging process in the cybersecurity sector, but it is now more important than ever because cybercriminals are increasingly catching businesses off guard.

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