Extortion shows up on cyber warfare frontline

Trend Micro, the Japan-based internet security firm, on Tuesday issued its Security Roundup report for the third quarter. The bottom line: malware isn’t as bad as it used to be but data breaches and corporate extortion is still a serious threat to businesses.

“The positive thing is we will see less malware because all the [malware] blockers are doing their job, which is destroying [the hacker’s] business model,” said TrendMicro Chief Technology Officer Raimund Genes.

That doesn’t mean that computing is safe. Genes said the best way to stay secure is to stay within an enclosed ecosystem, such as Apple’s iOS, and leave the settings on your phones and tablets alone. He said that most companies, especially Apple and Google, are making sure that default settings on smartphones and tablets include frequent and automatically installed security updates. These updates usually come at a pace that makes it unprofitable for cybercriminals to exploit any discovered vulnerability in the software.

However, businesses don’t update their software or hardware as frequently as consumers, which makes them more vulnerable to attack. This has led to numerous attacks on companies, but unlike hackers who stole personal financial information just a few years ago, hackers today are now gaining access to systems, stealing data and then blackmailing the company. If the company being blackmailed fails to pay, the hackers will release the information on the internet to either embarrass the company, or as in the case of Ashley Madison, a dating site for cheating spouses, to embarrass the site’s customers.

Genes said that in the US, medical records have also become a source of exploitation.

“When you look at our 2016 prediction, extortion will be a big thing, just like with Sony,” he said. “Ashley Madison was hacktivism, not extortion, but not now we are seeing extortion cases being based on Ashley Madison. It’s really getting bad.”

Sony in November of 2014 was the victim of one of the largest internet attacks ever. Corporate emails and media were made public causing the company massive public embarrassment.

Start-ups companies in particular are vulnerable to attacks due to budgetary restraints combined with the fast paces of technology. Genes said in an effort to keep cuts down, new technologies are being developed without consideration of the consequences and it’s only a matter of time hacking becomes a major problem for future technologies, such as driverless cars or remote controlled drones.