Tag: operational technology
Ransomware attacks on industrial systems double in one year
Ransomware attacks on the operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) that run industrial facilities almost doubled in 2024. According to Washington DC-based industrial cybersecurity company Dragos, ransomware attacks on industrial organizations in 2024 increased by a staggering 87 percent over the previous year. The main industries targeted were: electricity and water; industrial manufacturing; telecommunications; oil and gas; food and beverage; chemical manufacturing; mining, transportation, and logistics. Manufacturing, which accounted for 69 percent of all ransomware attacks targeting 1,171 manufacturing entities, was by far the worst hit.
Russian cyber gangs escalate attacks on US
Two Russian groups, the People’s Cyber Army and Z-Pentest, claim to have taken attacks on critical infrastructure in the US to a new and more dangerous level. Dark web researchers at threat intelligence firm Cyble have discovered Telegram videos detailing attacks on US energy and water facilities far beyond the previously supposed capabilities of such groups. Cyble believes that the two groups may be working in cooperation with one another. Previously, the People’s Cyber Army, which also goes by the name of the Cyber Army of Russia Reborn, and lesser-known groups such as Z-Pentest, have largely confined their attacks on US critical infrastructure to simple and easy-to-repel distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
US is top target for mobile cybercrime
The US is the top target for cyber-attacks focusing on mobile devices and those connected by the Internet of Things (IoT) plus the operational technology (OT) systems than run facilities such as power plants. According to cybersecurity firm Zscaler’s ThreatLabz 2024 Mobile, IoT, and OT Threat Report, mobile remains a top threat vector, with 111% growth in spyware and 29% growth in banking malware. Technology (18 percent), education (18 percent) and manufacturing (14 percent) continue to be the sectors most targeted by mobile malware. The education sector saw the most dramatic rise in blocked transactions, with a 136 percent increase on the previous year.
Exclusive: Hostile nations ramp up attacks on US infrastructure
Recent reports that ransomware attacks on industrial organizations increased by over 50 percent in 2023 represent only “the tip of the iceberg.” According to operational technology (OT) cybersecurity company IXDen, critical infrastructure across the US is being attacked at unprecedented levels. “The vast majority of cyber breaches of critical infrastructure such as water and power facilities go unreported, although a precise figure is impossible to gauge. Those that are reported in the media are only the tip of the iceberg. OT attacks on private businesses are not reported at all, and in public organizations, they are rarely reported,” says IXDen CEO and Co-Founder Zion Harel.
Exclusive: Expanding AI data centers have become tempting targets
Big Tech’s rapidly-expanding server farms are becoming increasingly tempting targets for ransomware gangs. In their Gadarene rush to be first with AI-based services, companies such as Google and Microsoft are not only abandoning any previous pretences about reducing their greenhouse emissions and energy consumption, they are also inadvertently building increasingly tempting targets for organized cybercriminals and nation-state threat actors. The online industry’s vast data centers and server farms run on similar operational technology (OT) systems to other industrial facilities. Originally designed to run offline, these systems are notoriously difficult to secure, particularly when they need to interface with newer information technology (IT) systems.