Taiwan-based computer giant Acer in March refused to directly confirm reports of a US$50 million ransom hack, saying only they had reported recent abnormal situations observed to the relevant law enforcement and data protection authorities in multiple countries. But the ransomware group that calls itself REvil was more than happy to confirm the hostage attack, posting images of what they said were stolen bank messages, bank balances, and spreadsheets.
If REvil’s claims are true, this US$50-million ransom could be the highest demand in the history of hacking. These evildoers appear to quite the businesspeople, reportedly offering a discount of 20 percent if Acer paid up quickly. The hackers also offered to give the computer company a report detailing Acer‘s network vulnerabilities “ how kind.
REvil’s Acer stunt was a US$20 million increase on their hit in January of Hong Kong‘s Dairy Farm Group, which runs a well-known supermarket chain in Asia called Wellcome.
The Malware Machine Gun Strategy “ Keep Firing and You’ll Hit Something
It seems unlikely that Acer or the Dairy Farm Group will ever pony up tens of millions of dollars, but just the fact of the demand indicates how things have escalated. The recently-released US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report from its Internet Crime Complaint Center noted that 2020 saw an increase of more than 300,000 complaints from 2019.
The 2020 Internet Crime Report has details on almost 800,000 web crime complaints, which resulted in reported losses of well over US$4 billion. Phishing scams were hot in 2020 and took the top spot in the cybercrime report, followed by scams, and extortion. Cybercriminals had a lot of time on their hands as the world went into pandemic lockdown, with reports claiming that as of April 2020, over 38 million new types of malware were on the loose.
As one blog put it, It’s almost like there’s a malware machine gun somewhere that’s constantly firing. And it’s trying to hit as many targets as possible.
Why Do So Many People Ignore Site Safety ?
Many people’s approach to staying safe online seems to be to follow common sense: don’t visit dangerous sites, and don’t download suspicious-looking documents or files. But that may not be enough. When stories like the aforementioned Acer attack break many think, Good thing I’m not a major computer manufacturer. But while the big attacks make the news, at least 40 percent of very expensive cybercrime hit medium to small businesses last year.
Why? Because they’re easier to hack. It’s clear we all need to upgrade our defenses; the anti-virus software that came with your laptop is nice, but a smarter idea is a proactive defense. Safety site checkers such as WOT are free, real-time scanners that flag sites, block ads, and actively alert you. Why wait to find out you were hacked? Safety site checkers flag sites, so you are warned and can quickly move on. If you want to participate, site checkers also you to rate for sites.
Browser Protection, Security Reports, Ad and Tracker Blocking
Being online in 2021 requires a different mindset than just a decade ago when using common sense might have kept you safe. Millions around the world gasped in horror after learning The Great Suspender was a malware delivery system. Experts say to expect many more smart attacks similar to the WannaCry ransomware attack that hit some 300,000 computers worldwide in 2017.
WannaCry was aptly named as hundreds of thousands were forced to either shell out hundreds of dollars in ransom via Bitcoin or see your files remain encrypted and inaccessible. The hole-in-the-armor used by WannaCry was patched by Microsoft months before the attacks. Who knows how many could have been spared their fate if they’d had real-time scanning and update info running every time they used their browser?
Malware threats in 2021 are going high-tech and could make WannaCry look amateurish. One example on the radar of security experts is StrongPity (also called APT-C-41). Using a technique called a watering hole, the malware attaches itself to what appears to be legitimate software “ such as WinRAR.
StrongPity tricks with well-designed and real-looking websites that offer you legitimate-looking web tools, but what you get is a Trojan horse. Other examples on the watch list include Agent Tesla, Foudre, EvilQuest (a.k.a.: ThiefQuest), and Mac.Ransom.K, to name a few. To be forewarned is to be forearmed and a simple add-on that flags something online listed as fishy could be a lifesaver.
There’s No Reason for a Lack of Awareness
Cybercrime specialists say a lack of awareness is what’s behind many successful attacks. We should know better, but many don’t. Way too many employees say they aren’t really sure what phishing is or know what having your credentials harvested means. It’s unreasonable to expect everyone to be a computer security expert: and that’s why site safety checkers were developed.
Red, yellow, green warnings plus ad blocking and phishing alerts “ it’s a simple, effective security system. Make sure every computer in your home or office is double-masked by installing a site safety checker.
