Which of the latest cyber threats do users and organizations face? Let’s look at some of those that have been included in the reports of the governments of the UK, USA and Australia.
The Dridex Trojan
In December 2019, the US Department of Justice accused the leader of a group of cybercriminals of participating in an attack using the Dridex malware. This campaign has affected public, government and business structures around the world.
Dridex is a banking Trojan with a wide range of features that appeared in 2014. It infiltrates victims’ computers using phishing emails and malware. Dridex can steal passwords, bank card details and personal information of users, which are then used by scammers. The amount of financial damage caused to them is estimated in the hundreds of millions.
To protect yourself, the National Cybersecurity Center of the UK recommends installing the latest security updates and antivirus software of the latest versions on your devices, as well as regularly performing file backups.
Fraud on dating sites and apps
In February 2020, the FBI warned US citizens about cases of fraud on dating sites, as well as in chat rooms and applications. Exploiting the desire to find a partner, cybercriminals extort personal information from victims.
As follows from the FBI report, in 2019, 114 residents of New Mexico became victims of such cyber threats, their financial losses amounted to about 1.6 million US dollars.
Emotet
At the end of 2019, the Australian Cybersecurity Center warned organizations about the spread of a cyber threat called Emotet.
Emotet is a sophisticated Trojan capable of stealing data, as well as downloading malware to devices. Its victims were often those who used simple passwords – this once again reminded users that they need to use more complex combinations.