Europol's 2021 cybercrime report: the pandemic accelerated the evolution of cyber threats

On 11 November, Europol published its Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2021 report, which details the developments and challenges related to cybercrime, and highlights how the global pandemic has fuelled the rapid rise of cybercrime in all its forms.

Each year, Europol publishes the IOCTA (Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment) report on the latest developments and emerging threats in cybercrime, as well as their impact on European users, organizations, and governments.

The latest edition of the report focuses on how the shift towards digital work caused by the Covid pandemic has continued to significantly influence the evolution of cyber threats across the board in the past 12 months. Europol highlights five key cyber threats influenced by pandemic-related digitalisation in 2021.

Europol highlights ransomware as one of the main cyber threats in 2021 and beyond. According to the report, more ransomware affiliates are looking to cooperate with “hackers and other malware developers,” while ransomware operators are looking for high-value targets in large organizations and their supply chains.

Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle noted that ransomware gangs are recklessly trying to up their profits by disrupting critical infrastructure “with no concern for the possible damages such interceptions may cause to public safety and security.”

The European law enforcement agency points at mobile malware as another major concern that has made its way near the top of the European threat landscape.

By introducing 2FA disruption techniques, overlay attacks, and increased SMS-spamming capabilities, mobile malware has become a “scalable business model” for cybercriminals.

Full article on https://cybernews.com/security/europols-2021-cybercrime-report-the-pandemic-accelerated-the-evolution-of-cyber-threats/

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