To say that 2021 was a turbulent year for security teams would be a massive understatement. Last year, we observed paralyzing ransomware operations against critical infrastructure, supply-chain attacks impacting hundreds of organizations, and state-sponsored espionage campaigns leaving no company—even those with expensive firewalls—feeling safe. Within this messy ecosystem, initial access brokers (IABs) have established themselves […]
Universities and higher education institutions were some of the most popular targets in 2021. According to Microsoft, education is the most targeted industry by malware, with 83% of malware encounters in the last 30 days affecting this industry. In March 2021, the UK’s National Cyber Security Center published an alert outlining an increase in ransomware […]
Note: This blog is part of a three-blog series on Vulnerability Intelligence that accompanies the release of Digital Shadows (now ReliaQuest)’ latest whitepaper titled Vulnerability Intelligence: Do You Know Where Your Flaws Are? The numerous roadblocks facing vulnerability management (VM) teams are one of the key points raised in our vulnerability Intelligence research. Whether you […]
Initial access brokers (IABs) are enablers of high-level cybercriminal activity. They identify weak points in their targets’ systems and networks, and sell these accesses to prospective attackers for profit. Essentially, doing the dirty work for other cybercriminals. They have become increasingly active, and are likely raking the profits in, big-time. Why have we seen an […]
Back in March 2021, Digital Shadows (now ReliaQuest) published a research report titled Initial Access Brokers: An Excess of Access, analyzing more than 500 access listings across 2020 and initiating a discussion around the figure of Initial Access Brokers (IABs). Ever since, IABs have consolidated their role in the cybercriminal landscape and have now become […]