Hacker typing on a laptop
CyberCX has launched its new Ransomware and Cyber Extortion Best Practice Guide to help fight cyber extortion.
The UK is the second largest market for cyber extortion (second only to the US), and attacks are increasing quarterly throughout 2023 and while the UK government did announce a crackdown in February this year, it’s not reducing attacks, instead moving cyber criminals’ focus to SMBs and dispersing hackers from organised gangs to less traceable pockets of activity.
CyberCX’s new Ransomware and Cyber Extortion Best Practice Guide reflecting significant changes to the global cyber security landscape as businesses, organisations, and governments continue to grapple with established and emerging cyber threats.
CyberCX Chief Strategy Officer Alastair MacGibbon said, “In an increasingly challenging and complex threat environment, it is important to create a resource that cuts through to what matters most – giving executives and professionals the tools they need to help make critical decisions.”
“This guide is underpinned by the day-in, day-out experience of our exceptional incident response and intelligence teams who support technical leads, executives, and boards as they navigate and mitigate these wicked attacks,” MacGibbon said.
“As criminal groups have leaned into ‘harm maximisation’ tactics, leaders have better realised that cyber incidents are no longer simply IT matters.”
“This has resulted in strong demand for crisis management and strategic advisory, including crisis communications, alongside the long-establish technical response capabilities – which CyberCX delivers.”
The Guide provides CyberCX’s insights with recommendations to empower organisations to take practical steps to prevent, respond to, and recover from cyber extortion attacks.
The Guide leads with an assessment of the cyber threat landscape and evolving threat actor tactics, which have significantly shifted in recent times, and highlights that:
• The impact and frequency of all forms of cyber extortion continue to increase. All organisations are at risk.
• Cyber criminals are experimenting with “harm maximisation” tactics to increase pressure on victim organisations to pay.
• There has been further fragmentation and diversification in the cyber extortion economy, driving specialisation, unpredictability, and more capable tradecraft.
