Cyber Insiders - Magazine - Page 22
RANSOMCLOUD:
HOW
RANSOMWARE
IS ATTACKING
THE CLOUD
By John Tipton
Senior Consultant at Adarma
Within the mob of malware,
ransomware is leading the
pack. While other malicious
software – such as viruses,
worms, spyware, and
adware – ransack computer
systems, ransomware goes
further by making demands.
It infiltrates computers and
servers with intention,
encrypting files and data
along the way thus,
rendering devices unusable.
Once satisfied, the operators
behind the attack will insist
that a hefty sum is paid up in
return for the decryption key.
It’s the age-old tactic of
extortion but re-enacted in
the digital world. Now that
our everyday lives have
become highly dependent
on the internet, the playing
field for this particular strain
of malware has expanded
immeasurably. At the same
time, cybersecurity threats
are growing – in 2020,
malware and ransomware
attacks increased by 358%
and 435% respectively –
and are outpacing societies’
ability to respond
effectively.
In fact our own ransomware
readiness research found
that 58% of organisations
with over 2,000 employees
have already suffered a
ransomware attack.
Though ransomware may
have started as an operation
of opportunity, it has since
become an established
criminal enterprise in its own
right. And in the same way a
legitimate business might
adapt and evolve to remain
competitive in the market,
threat actors leveraging
ransomware are doing the
same. The mass shift to the
cloud is a prime example of
this.
Cloud migration is not a new
phenomenon, but it has
certainly been expedited by
the pandemic. To maintain
businesses continuity,
companies have transferred
their digital assets and
operations to a cloud
computing environment;
minimising or even
eliminating the use of onpremise databases. In other
words, software, services
and databases can now be
accessed via the internet.
CYBER INSIDERS MAGAZINE
22