by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – RECENT global research indicates that ransomware attacks continued to trend upwards in 2024, rising by 3 percent compared to 2023.
According to an expert, the surge in ransomware activity was despite some major setbacks faced by two of the biggest threat actors.
Law enforcement actions in late 2023 and early 2024 targeted two of the most prominent ransomware groups, LockBit and Noberus, leading to a temporary slowdown in attacks during the first quarter.
However, this decline was short-lived, as ransomware operations quickly regained momentum, escalating significantly in the latter half of the year.
NEC XON recently showcased its advanced cyber threat detection and response capabilities by successfully thwarting a human-operated ransomware attack targeting a major service provider.
The attackers exploited compromised privileged credentials to access a remote service used by the provider for external connectivity.
Since this service was exposed to the internet, ransomware operators were able to log in using stolen credentials, setting the stage for a potential large-scale breach.
NEC XON’s Managed Detection and Response (MDR) team quickly identified the suspicious activity through multiple alerts. Analysing the attack patterns, they determined it was a human-operated ransomware group aiming to encrypt files and extort the provider for decryption keys.
“Cyber resilience is the art of managing digital risks—the ability to reduce risk to a level that is manageable and containable,” said Armand Kruger, Head of Cybersecurity at NEC XON.
“We implement advanced AI-driven security solutions and mature cyber anticipation, detection, and response capabilities to proactively identify cyber threats before they pose a significant risk to our customers’ digital environments.”
NEC XON is a leading African integrator of ICT solutions and part of NEC, a Japanese global company. The holding company has operated in Africa since 1963.
– CAJ News