LATEST INTELLIGENCE
CISCO CYBERSECURITY SERIES 2019 • THREAT REPORT
FEBRUARY 2019
DEFENDING AGAINST TODAY’S
CRITICAL THREATS
A
Defending
against today’s
critical threats
PRESENTED BY
s with driving, not only do you get a good
look at what’s behind you, but you can
often spot what’s coming up quick, set to
overtake you.
That’s the spirit of this threat report. We’ve picked
out five key stories from the last year or so, not
just because they were big events, but because we
think these threats, or similar ones, could very well
appear in the near future.
Take modular threats like Emotet and VPNFilter,
for example. These are threats that can deliver
an on-demand menu of attacks and threats,
depending on which device is infected or the
intended goal of the attacker. We saw plenty
of such modular threats in recent history and
wouldn’t be surprised if we see more in the future.
February 2019 Threat Report
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Email remains the darling delivery method of
attackers, with threats from cryptomining to Emotet
using it to spread. It’s also highly likely that other
threats, such as unauthorised MDM profile, used it
too. This highlights how critical it is to keep a close
eye on what is coming in through your mailbox.
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Modus operandi
Revenue generation continues to be a primary
motivation for attackers: malware follows the money.
Cryptomining threats, for instance, are laser-focused on
this goal. Meanwhile, Emotet has pivoted to a threat
distribution network, capitalising on a variety of options
to make money.
Data exfiltration has also taken its time in the spotlight.
VPNFilter included the ability to exfiltrate data, among
its many features. Emotet, beyond stealing network
credentials to help it spread, was also seen spreading
Trickbot, another popular infostealing banking trojan.
Finally, some threats just want to watch the world burn,
as is the case with Olympic Destroyer. We saw a number
of threats like this in the last year, but none grabbed the
headlines like an attack whose sole purpose appears to
have been to disrupt the Winter Olympics. So, while we
look back at some of the most impactful threats of 2018,
it’s important to be mindful of what made these threats
so successful. Many of them may be in the rearview
mirror for now, but have you passed them, or are they
speeding up to pass you and your security strategy? n
INTELLIGENTCIO
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