In the movie The Beekeeper (2024), in theaters these days, an old woman has all her money stolen in a computer scam and then she commits suicide (sorry for the spoiler). It’s just fiction, of course. But the threats from cybercriminals are real and the daily bread of many companies. An increasingly expensive bread, by the way.
According to the latest report from the consulting firm Chainanalysis, Crypto Crime Report, released this month, the ransom payments that companies have disbursed to cybercriminals to free their servers (or network, or computers or other devices) from computer infections have reached a new record. The companies paid a whopping $1.1 billion (most of it in cryptocurrencies) to these criminal gangs that attack using ransomware (a type of harmful program that restricts access to certain parts or files of the infected operating system and then requests a ransom in exchange for removing this restriction from their technological structures). 80% of payments exceeded $1 million, according to Chainanalysis.
Although less than half of companies agree to deal with criminals, Luís Corrons, who holds the position of security evangelist at the firms Avast and Gen, believes that “companies often find it more worthwhile to pay than to report. Because every day that they are stopped without being able to operate, it costs them much more money,” he explains. “We must understand that these computer attacks are not directed most of the time by lone hackers, but rather they are authentic criminal companies whose objective is to achieve profitability,” says this expert.
What if cybercriminals don’t keep their word and after getting paid they don’t deactivate the viruses? In reality, they also take care of their… criminal reputation. “They have every interest in freeing the companies from threats once they receive the money, because then they know that next time they will be paid again,” he says. Russia, China and North Korea are the most common places where these campaigns come from, not only against companies (transportation and logistics are common targets), but against institutions: hospitals, ministries, schools, government agencies. Geopolitical motivations are on the rise.
According to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2023, cybersecurity incidents represent the greatest risk to businesses and are among the most dangerous threats, according to this year’s Davos Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report.
Behind these cracks there is always the human factor. As Stefan Lüders, director of computer security at CERN, said, “when working from home, being a more relaxed environment, many users do not concentrate as well.”
Artificial intelligence offers new possibilities for criminals to spread their viruses. What years ago could arrive through a suspicious email, now travels in the form of false identities in real time even with manipulated images or videos or audios – voice cloning – (the so-called deep fake). With which AI helps criminals in their tasks, in all areas. “Phishing emails can be created 40% faster thanks to ChatGPT,” said Niklas Hellemann, CEO of SoSafe.
One infection route that is gaining popularity is the PDF file, according to Avast. Thanks to its credibility as an independent company, this program is now used to spread fake messages or as a file from which to click links to malicious programs.
Other gateways are the so-called browser cookies and technical support scams, a technique that is on the rise in Spain (the country ranks third worldwide in the number of attacks suffered with this type of tricks). The Ministry of the Interior certifies that cybercrime, in terms of the number of infections, has grown by 75% between 2019 and 2022. Movie stories.
