Rise of 'popular' delivery malware points to increasing organization of black market actors and PlugX case study illustrates the low and slow pace of attacks associated with nation-states

WATERLOO, Ontario and SEATTLE, Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- eSentire, Inc., the global leader in cloud-delivered Managed Detection and Response (MDR), today announced the availability of its Annual Threat Intelligence Report: 2019 Perspectives and 2020 Predictions. The report highlights the discovery of years-long dwell time of PlugX, a popular remote access tool that is commonly associated with nation-state attacks in a new customer's environment and the increasing organization of cybercrime, as evidenced by the rise of commodity malware delivery tools.

The company's annual threat report found that Emotet accounted for almost 20% of confirmed malware incidents, reinforcing its role in the black market as the preferred delivery tool. Emotet was the most observed threat both on networks and on endpoints, achieving this dominance despite a midyear hiatus when the command and control servers were dormant.

To download the entire eSentire Annual Threat Intelligence Report: 2019 Perspectives and 2020 Predictions, visit here.

As the organized cybercrime ecosystem continued to mature in 2019, Emotet remains the dark market leader for delivery-as-a-service. But commodity malware, which is easily available and readily automated, is just part of the 2019 threat story, according to eSentire's findings.

The report also examines the increase in abusing trust when it comes to cyberspace: from phishing campaigns using trusted cloud services to host kits and pages to Emotet harvesting emails to later reply to threads and reuse subjects and from impersonation attacks to compromising managed service providers (MSPs), threat actors are employing an ever-evolving range of strategies and tactics to bypass defenses.

There is a need for zero trust as cyber criminals increasingly hone their micro-social engineering skills to exploit the trust circle and supply chains of their target victims. As outlined in the report, targeted phishing campaigns rode trusted cloud services to host malware kits and fraudulent sites, and Emotet based credential harvesting to parasitize legitimate email accounts and hijack threads, reuse active subjects and impersonate trusted sources. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) also topped the criminal hit list to circumvent security controls and back-door into targets by posing as trusted vendors.

Additional findings of the report include:

• Hands-on keyboard attacks are rising: Threat actors are increasingly turning to these types of attacks (particularly ransomware), which require manual effort and high-value targeting. The recent Travelex attack alleges such engagement. Automated "drive-by downloads" and "commodity malware" continue to pose a threat, but these are becoming less attractive as more companies boost their cybersecurity efforts.
• Dominating ransomware families: A significant number of successful ransomware attacks against enterprises – including governments, managed service providers and large businesses – can be attributed to just six ransomware families.
• Healthcare and construction industries are most vulnerable to phishing attacks: While the healthcare and hospital industry as a whole has improved its resilience against commodity malware attacks, it continues to be the most vulnerable, followed closely by construction.
• Cloud services gaining traction for phishing campaigns: Cloud services like Google and Microsoft Azure are being used to host malicious pages and trusted proxies to redirect users. The phishing lures observed most frequently are email services, Microsoft Office 365 and financial services.

Keegan Keplinger, Research Lead, eSentire, said: "A recurring conclusion of the report's case studies is that simplistic approaches to security can leave dangerous gaps in an organization's defenses. Anecdotally, we have found several cases of surprisingly large organizations with valuable data and critical infrastructure with little more than an anti-virus program running on their endpoints prior to our engagement. Even complete network coverage can miss something as straightforward as an attacker returning to an organization with successfully phished credentials. These organizations appear to underestimate the sophistication of modern cybercriminals, as well as the value the data holds to them.  Having the strategic insight about what attackers are capable of, what kind of tools they are using, and how valuable your data and infrastructure can be is fundamental to understanding the lengths you have to go to protect them."

Report Methodology

eSentire Threat Intelligence used data gathered from over 2,000 proprietary network and host-based detection sensors distributed globally across multiple industries. Raw data was normalized and aggregated using automated machine-based processing methods. Processed data was reviewed by a visual data analyst applying quantitative analysis methods. Quantitative intelligence analysis results were further processed by a qualitative intelligence analyst resulting in a written analytical product.

About eSentire:

eSentire, Inc., the global leader in Managed Detection and Response (MDR), keeps organizations safe from constantly evolving cyberattacks that technology alone cannot prevent. Its 24x7 Security Operations Center (SOC), staffed by elite security analysts, hunts, investigates, and responds in real-time to known and unknown threats before they become business disrupting events. Protecting more than $6 trillion AUM in the financial sector alone, eSentire absorbs the complexity of cybersecurity, delivering enterprise-grade protection and the ability to comply with growing regulatory requirements. For more information, visit www.esentire.com and follow @eSentire.

Media Contact
Rebecca Freiburger
Rebecca.Freiburger@esentire.com 
1.226.924.4679

SOURCE eSentire, Inc.

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