Trend Micro, a cybersecurity solutions provider, stated that the Internet of Things (IoT) has become a primary target for cybercriminals. In its latest research, named the Internet of Things in Underground Communities, Trend Micro detailed the rising trend for IoT attacks.
The research explained how online intruders exploit vulnerabilities in connected devices. It has examined several hacker forums in the Russian, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabic languages to determine the hackers’ activity on IoT attacks.
According to the research findings, the Russian and Portuguese-speaking forums are most prominent in financially driven attacks than the other cybercriminal markets. It’s said that the main activity of these forums is selling access to compromised devices such as webcams, routers, and printers.
In order to mitigate cyber risks from the design phase itself, the researchers at Trend Micro urged the IoT manufacturers to partner with security experts.
“The Russian cybercrime underground market is the most sophisticated out of all the underground communities we discuss in this paper. The money-driven criminals make up a market thriving with exploits for routers, customized firmware for smart meters, talks of hacking gas pumps, and router-based botnets for sale. There is a variety of conversations taking place around devices, including fewer common platforms. Most of these talks have a monetization angle. In general, a Russian underground is a place for business where hacking and technical information is mere details,” the report stated.
In its earlier research, Trend Micro revealed that there is a 265 percent increase in Fileless Attacks in the first half of 2019 when compared with the same period in 2018. A Fileless Attack, also known as a zero-footprint attack or non-malware attack, will not install any malicious software on a user’s computer, as it exploits applications that are already installed in the device.
Trend Micro stated that cybercriminals are using sophisticated attack formats that aren’t visible to traditional security procedures. In its Mid-Year Cybersecurity report, Trend Micro revealed that out of 1.8 billion ransomware threats, from January 2016 to June 2019, the highest number of ransomware threats (42.98 percent) are suffered by businesses in Asia. And the companies in India reported around 23.88 percent of ransomware attacks in the first of 2019, the report stated.
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