For years, cybercrime has been increasing and shows no signs of deceleration. To complement it, this situation has just been fueled by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. According to experts’ opinions at TopSpyingApps, this ransomware wave is not going to stop anytime soon. Those who anticipated relief from the growing terror of cybercrimes in 2021 must be deceived because the number of attacks is growing day after day.
Businesses have access to numerous tools, such as zero trust security, to help foil hacks and prevent data breaches. This is especially important in an age where remote working has become the norm, but when businesses don’t implement enough security measures, hackers can find a way in.
We barely went through the first quarter of 2021 and have already made headlines for several large cyberattacks. The following is a list of some of the most serious cyber-assaults in Q1 2021:
1. Colonial Pipeline
The DarkSide troupe has created a major shortage in some states targeting the company’s accounting system, causing massive havoc all over the country. Because this attack was so vast and potentially dangerous, Colonial Pipeline has decided to pay the ransom and ask for access.
This attack was especially dangerous as consumers first rushed to ignore security measures, which could’ve ended up very poorly. Some East Coast residents were trying to load gasoline in inflammable plastic bags and trash cans – it’s obvious why that is dangerous. After the turmoil subsided, government officials confirmed that Colonial Pipeline’s cybersecurity fell short of standards and stronger safeguards should’ve been taken.
Thankfully, U.S. law enforcement was able to recover much of the $4.4 million ransom payment. The FBI was able to track the money by monitoring the movement of cryptocurrencies and digital wallets. However, it is very difficult to pinpoint the real hackers behind the attacks.
2. Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft faced one of the cybersecurity breaches from January 3 to March 2, 2021. There, malicious hackers exploited four zero-day vulnerabilities to attack the on-premises version of Microsoft Exchange servers. This popular cyberattack simultaneously affected 9 government agencies and more than 60,000 private companies.
The CISA then issued Emergency Directive 2102, which requires all federal agencies to cut off Microsoft ExchangeServer as soon as possible. A few days later, Microsoft announced a notice to all consumers to see if it was corrupted due to a data breach.
3. Solar Winds
SolarWinds is a leading software company that provides systems management tools and other technical services for monitoring networks and infrastructure to hundreds of thousands of organizations worldwide. One of the company’s products is Orion, an IT performance monitoring system.
As an IT monitoring system, SolarWinds Orion has access to IT systems to retrieve logs and system performance data. SolarWinds’ profitable and attractive goals were created with privileged status and widespread distribution.
This cyberattack is very complex and continues to evolve. Attackers perform conventional identification, such as scanning for known signs of intrusion (IOC) that have a random, limited-value part of their action. Affected tissues should be prepared for complex and difficult treatments from this attack.
4. Acer
Acer is Taiwan’s prestigious computer giant that experienced a $ 50 million ransomware attack that set the highest ransomware record to date around March 21, 2021. A malicious hacker group is a Microsoft vulnerability in Acer’s back-office network. Acer was unaware of ransomware attacks. Data breaches include financial spreadsheets, bank balances, and bank communications. REvil and Acer have begun negotiations with $ 50 million and have offered a 20% discount to encourage the company to pay. Late payments at Acer spike the price from $50 million to $100 million. The malicious group comprised the company’s network, using stolen corporate data, including customer databases, including account numbers, and credit lines. A post containing an auction listing of some Acer data has been uploaded to the REvil group’s site.
5. Florida Water System
And maybe the scariest one of them all – a hacker has tried to poison the water plant in Florida, potentially killing thousands of people. Cybercriminals have managed to remotely control computers to change chemical levels in water supplies and allow supervisors to capture the action in real-time, increasing the amount of sodium hydroxide before undoing the change.
Another similar attack has happened Central State of Upper Galilee and Mateehuda. The hackers tried to change the chlorine level in the water before it stopped being found. Although cyberattacks exist in the digital space, they can have a substantive and concrete impact on today’s physical world. We are worried that we are facing a time bomb. Unfortunately, these attacks are not even close to being done. Instead, they’ll be evolving even more and targeting more major companies, or even plain civilians. Companies should take their cybersecurity efforts more seriously and invest more money into creating a proper cybersecurity infrastructure. This can not only hurt people physically, but it can impose some serious fines from regulatory bodies, causing companies to go bankrupt and seize all operations.
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