{"id":59470,"date":"2015-12-11T00:11:38","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T22:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/kaspersky-lab-in-2015-the-word-cyber-security-entered-popular-culture\/"},"modified":"2015-12-11T00:11:38","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T22:11:38","slug":"kaspersky-lab-in-2015-the-word-cyber-security-entered-popular-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/kaspersky-lab-in-2015-the-word-cyber-security-entered-popular-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaspersky Lab: in 2015, the word \u201ccyber-security\u201d entered popular culture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span dir=\"ltr\"> LAGOS, Nigeria, December 10, 2015\/APO (African Press Organization)\/ &#8212; <\/span><\/p>\n<p>In 2015, the word &#8220;cyber-security&#8221; became trendy globally. Perhaps for the first time in history, issues relating to the security of the Internet and the protection of internal networks were discussed by, and became relevant to every sector of the economy as well as everyday life: from finance, manufacturing\/industrial, automotive and aircraft to wearable devices, healthcare, dating services and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p>2015 saw near-exponential growth in all areas related to cyber-security. In fact, Kaspersky Lab (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/\">http:\/\/www.Kaspersky.co.za<\/a>) has seen a strong growth in detected threats in African countries, including Nigeria. Says Dirk Kollberg, Senior Security Researcher, Global Research  Analysis Team at Kaspersky Lab; \u201cThe continued increase in threats and cyber- security matters certainly shows that African countries are a growing target for cybercrime, and as a result, countries like Nigeria need to pay attention to this reality and the future trends and predictions in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p>For Kaspersky Lab, the overriding trend in 2015 globally has been increased complexity in cyber-attacks. The growing number of attacks, the numbers of both attackers and their victims, together with a greater focus on cyber-security in defense budgets, new or enhanced cyber-laws, international agreements and new standards &#8211; 2015 redefined the rules of the game. This year, agreements on cyber-security were signed between Russia and China, China and the United States, and between China and the United Kingdom. These agreements include not just a commitment to mutual cooperation but an assurance that both sides will seek to prevent attacks on each other.<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p>Cyber-activity during 2015 <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/kaspersky-security-bulletin\/68117\/kaspersky-security-bulletin-2014-a-look-into-the-apt-crystal-ball\/\">is described<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/kaspersky-security-bulletin\/68117\/kaspersky-security-bulletin-2014-a-look-into-the-apt-crystal-ball\">https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/kaspersky-security-bulletin\/68117\/kaspersky-security-bulletin-2014-a-look-into-the-apt-crystal-ball<\/a>) by Kaspersky Lab\u2019s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) as \u201celusive\u201d: full of cyber-criminals that are proving hard to catch, cyber-espionage actors that are even harder to attribute, and with privacy often the most elusive of all. Cyber-attacks have achieved the impossible: they have thinned the walls of bedrooms and offices around the world.<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p><em>\u201cSelect any economic sector at random, and the chances are high that you\u2019ll find something in the media about a cyber-security incident or problem.\u00a0The same goes for all aspects of everyday life. This year\u2019s cyber-events have resulted in a sharp increase in interest, not only in the world\u2019s media but also in the entertainment industry. Movies and television programmes featuring cyber-security issues sometimes resulted in experts appearing as themselves. However, in addition to the positive changes of increased public awareness of risk and how to avoid it, 2015 also resulted in some negative outcomes. Unfortunately, for many, cyber-security has become linked to terrorism. Today, attacking and defending internal and external networks, such as the Internet, are subjects of considerable interest to various illegal groups,\u201d continues Kollberg. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p \/>\n<h3><strong>Kaspersky Lab: predicting the future:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A year ago, the director of Kaspersky Lab\u2019s GReAT team, Costin Raiu predicted <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/kaspersky-security-bulletin\/68117\/kaspersky-security-bulletin-2014-a-look-into-the-apt-crystal-ball\/\">a few trends<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/kaspersky-security-bulletin\/68117\/kaspersky-security-bulletin-2014-a-look-into-the-apt-crystal-ball) for advanced, persistent cyber-threats in 2015. As the year was to show, his forecast was accurate:<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The evolution of malware techniques<\/strong>. In 2015, GReAT discovered previously unseen methods used by the <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68750\/equation-the-death-star-of-malware-galaxy\/\">Equation<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68750\/equation-the-death-star-of-malware-galaxy) group, whose malware can modify the firmware of hard drives, and by <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70504\/the-mystery-of-duqu-2-0-a-sophisticated-cyberespionage-actor-returns\/\">Duqu 2.0<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70504\/the-mystery-of-duqu-2-0-a-sophisticated-cyberespionage-actor-returns), whose infections make no changes to the disk or system settings, leaving almost no traces in the system. These two cyber-espionage campaigns surpassed anything known to date in terms of complexity and the sophistication of techniques.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The merger of cybercrime and advanced persistent threats<\/strong>. In 2015 the <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68732\/the-great-bank-robbery-the-carbanak-apt\/\">Carbanak<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68732\/the-great-bank-robbery-the-carbanak-apt\">https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68732\/the-great-bank-robbery-the-carbanak-apt<\/a>) cyber-criminal gang stole up to $1 billion from financial institutions worldwide using targeted attack methods.<\/li>\n<li><strong>New methods of data exfiltration<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/72081\/satellite-turla-apt-command-and-control-in-the-sky\/\">Satellite Turla<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/72081\/satellite-turla-apt-command-and-control-in-the-sky\">https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/72081\/satellite-turla-apt-command-and-control-in-the-sky<\/a>) was found to use satellite communications to manage its command-and-control traffic.<\/li>\n<li><strong>An APT arms race<\/strong>. French-\u201cspeaking\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/69114\/animals-in-the-apt-farm\/\">Animal Farm<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/69114\/animals-in-the-apt-farm\">https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/69114\/animals-in-the-apt-farm<\/a>) and Arabic-\u201cspeaking\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68817\/the-desert-falcons-targeted-attacks\/\">Desert Falcons<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68817\/the-desert-falcons-targeted-attacks) were two of many cyber-threats seen during the year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Targeting executives through hotel networks<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> This prediction was later modified to include any venue where a high-profile target could be targeted outside the protected corporate perimeter. For example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70504\/the-mystery-of-duqu-2-0-a-sophisticated-cyberespionage-actor-returns\/\">Duqu 2.0<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70504\/the-mystery-of-duqu-2-0-a-sophisticated-cyberespionage-actor-returns) malware infections were linked to the P5+1 events and venues for high-level meetings between world leaders.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Precise attacks merged with mass surveillance.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/69114\/animals-in-the-apt-farm\/\">Animal Farm<\/a>\u2019s (<a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/69114\/animals-in-the-apt-farm\">https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/69114\/animals-in-the-apt-farm<\/a>) targeted cyber-attacks merged with DDoS attacks from the same threat actor, which is rare for advanced targeted cyber-campaigns.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Threat actors add mobile attacks to their arsenal<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68817\/the-desert-falcons-targeted-attacks\/\">Desert Falcons<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68817\/the-desert-falcons-targeted-attacks\">https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68817\/the-desert-falcons-targeted-attacks<\/a>) targeted Android users.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p \/>\n<p>What Kaspersky Lab\u2019s GReAT didn\u2019t anticipate was that in 2015 we\u2019d see wars between APTs. In 2015, Kaspersky Lab recorded a rare and unusual example of one cybercriminal attacking another. In 2014, <a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/attack=34\">Hellsing<\/a> (https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/attack=34), a small and technically unremarkable cyberespionage group targeting mostly government and diplomatic organisations in Asia, was subjected to a spear-phishing attack by another threat actor, <a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/attack=36\">Naikon<\/a> (https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/attack=36), and decided to strike back. Kaspersky Lab believes that this could mark the emergence of a new trend in criminal cyber-activity: the APT wars.<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p>In total, Kaspersky Lab\u2019s Global Research and Analysis Team issued 14 public reports on APT attacks in 2015: <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70504\/the-mystery-of-duqu-2-0-a-sophisticated-cyberespionage-actor-returns\/\">Duqu 2.0<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/71713\/darkhotels-attacks-in-2015\/\">Darkhotel \u2013 part 2<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70504\/the-mystery-of-duqu-2-0-a-sophisticated-cyberespionage-actor-returns), <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/publications\/69953\/the-naikon-apt\/\">Naikon<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/publications\/69953\/the-naikon-apt), <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70029\/the-naikon-apt-and-the-msnmm-campaigns\/\">MsnMM Campaigns<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70029\/the-naikon-apt-and-the-msnmm-campaigns), <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/72081\/satellite-turla-apt-command-and-control-in-the-sky\/\">Satellite Turla<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/72081\/satellite-turla-apt-command-and-control-in-the-sky), <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/71275\/wild-neutron-economic-espionage-threat-actor-returns-with-new-tricks\/\">Wild Neutron<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/71275\/wild-neutron-economic-espionage-threat-actor-returns-with-new-tricks), <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68750\/equation-the-death-star-of-malware-galaxy\/\">Equation<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68750\/equation-the-death-star-of-malware-galaxy), <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/71876\/new-activity-of-the-blue-termite-apt\/\">Blue Termite<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/71876\/new-activity-of-the-blue-termite-apt), <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/publications\/69567\/the-chronicles-of-the-hellsing-apt-the-empire-strikes-back\/\">Hellsing<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/analysis\/publications\/69567\/the-chronicles-of-the-hellsing-apt-the-empire-strikes-back),\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68732\/the-great-bank-robbery-the-carbanak-apt\/\">Carbanak<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68732\/the-great-bank-robbery-the-carbanak-apt),<a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68817\/the-desert-falcons-targeted-attacks\/\">Desert Falcons<\/a> (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/68817\/the-desert-falcons-targeted-attacks), <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/69114\/animals-in-the-apt-farm\/\">Animal Farm<\/a>, Spring (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/69114\/animals-in-the-apt-farm) Dragon (https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70726\/the-spring-dragon-apt) and Sofacy. These advanced actors \u201cspeak\u201d different languages: traces hidden in the APTs were in<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=5\">Russian<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=5\">https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=5<\/a>),<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=1\">Chinese<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=1\">https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=1<\/a>),<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=2\">English<\/a> (https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=2),<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=0\">Arabic<\/a> (https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=0),<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=4\">Korean<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=4\">https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/language=4<\/a>),<\/p>\n<p>and <a href=\"https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/attack=33\">French<\/a> (https:\/\/apt.securelist.com\/#secondPage\/attack=33). They targeted financial institutions, government, military and diplomatic organisations, telecommunications companies and energy firms, political activists and leaders, mass media, private business and more. The attacks were all global.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LAGOS, Nigeria, December 10, 2015\/APO (African Press Organization)\/ &#8212; In 2015, the word &#8220;cyber-security&#8221; became trendy globally. Perhaps for the first time in history, issues relating to the security of the Internet and the protection of internal networks were discussed by, and became relevant to every sector of the economy as well as everyday life: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[428,4585,830],"class_list":{"0":"post-59470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-africa","8":"tag-apo","9":"tag-news","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59470\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}