Banks, Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Critical Infrastructure are Forecast to be the Most Likely Targets for Hacking in the Near Future - According to Group-IB Hi-Tech Crime Trends Report

MOSCOW, October 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

1. In the next year, the main point of losses for banks from cyber-attacks will be not theft of money, but destruction of their IT infrastructure during the final stages of a targeted hacking attack. Banks used to only be attacked by cybercriminals. Today, state-linked hackers are doing this far more frequently. By destroying IT infrastructure, cybercriminals will attempt to cover their tracks during thefts, while the aim of state-sponsored hackers will be to maximize the damage to banks and discontinue banking operations. In both cases, the damage done to banks may be even greater than the amount of funds stolen due to service interruptions and resulting reputational and regulatory impact.

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2. Hackers will now successfully attack more industrial facilities as they have learnt how to work with the "logic" of critical infrastructure. These facilities use complex and unique IT systems: even if one gains access to them, specific knowledge about the principles of their operation is needed to conduct attacks. Over the past year, we have observed that hackers' competence has increased along with their capacities to impact critical infrastructure. Therefore, we now forecast new large-scale incidents targeting industrials and related core infrastructure.

3. Hackers are switching their focus from banks to the crypto industry (ICO, wallets, exchanges, funds), which have been accumulating increasingly large capitalisations and funds. In technical terms, the attacks against service providers in this sector are no more difficult than against banks, however the information security in place and maturity of blockchain companies is significantly lower. A further motivation for criminal attackers is that blockchain technologies are more anonymous and unregulated - this considerably reduces the risk of being caught during money withdrawal.

Full report is available through the link: https://www.group-ib.com/2017-report.html

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Group-IB helps major corporations recognize and react to online threats originating in Russia, Eastern Europe, and other major centers for targeted cyberattacks. Group-IB Threat Intelligence empowers organizations to build more effective defenses against sophisticated cyberattacks. Group-IB is official partner of EUROPOL and INTERPOL. Gartner, Forrester, IDC, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and many others recognize Group-IB's unique leadership in protecting against online fraud, financial loss, and reputation risk. http://www.group-ib.com