AlphaLock, Threat Actor Branding, and the World of Cybercrime Marketing
Threat actors are not a monolith in their approach to cybercrime. The popular perception is that threat actors steal information for the sake of it, while knowing and accepting that they are doing something wrong. However, some threat actors also justify their actions by promoting an image that their activity ethically advances the cause of […]
LockBit’s Conversation on XSS Forum with an Initial Access Broker
In February of 2024, admins of the Russian hacking forum XSS banned the primary LockBit account active on the forum. The ban was the result of a dispute between LockBit, and an initial access broker operating under the username “aa.” The following is a conversation between AA and LockBit, posted on XSS as aa sought […]
Modern Cyber Warfare: Crowdsourced DDoS Attacks
Over the past few years, politically motivated threat actors have increasingly gone online to find allies for their causes. While ten years ago most hactivism like this was anonymous, modern actors favoring certain political elements or governments leverage a broader ecosystem. Since Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks require little technical skill, they offer a […]
Initial Access Broker Landscape in NATO Member States on Exploit Forum
Initial access brokers (IABs) gain unauthorized access to the system then sell this access to other malicious actors. Based on a large sample of IAB posts on the Russian-language hacking forum Exploit.in (Exploit), IABs increasingly target entities within NATO member states, with research revealing recent activity in 21 of 31 countries. Additionally, access to organizations […]
Threat Intelligence Sharing: 5 Best Practices
To combat sophisticated and relentless threats effectively, organizations must adopt a collaborative approach that goes beyond their individual security measures. Threat intelligence sharing has emerged as a powerful strategy to enhance cybersecurity defenses by leveraging the collective knowledge and insights of the cybersecurity community. By exchanging information about emerging threats, attack techniques, and indicators of […]
Actionable Threat Intelligence: Generating Risk Reduction from CTI
Organizations need to go beyond traditional security measures to effectively protect their valuable assets and maintain a strong security posture. They must harness the power of actionable threat intelligence, which provides timely and relevant insights that can drive proactive risk reduction strategies. Actionable threat intelligence empowers organizations to not only understand the threat landscape but […]
Actioning Threat Intelligence Data: The Definitive Guide
Threat intelligence data plays a pivotal role in strengthening any organization’s defense systems. Actionable threat intelligence is critical, and it is an important function in active defense measures. It provides immense benefits through providing context and priority. Adopting a SaaS platform for threat intelligence handling includes useful features such as automation, consolidated data sources, real-time […]
Cybersecurity AI: Threat Actor Profiling Provides Instant Insights
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLM) dominate current technology conversations. From ChatGPT to DALLE 2, generative AI has become the new hype technology overtaking the corporate world. With all the hype around generative AI, the idea that it is a tool that can enable rather than replace people can get lost. According […]
What is Your Security Attack Surface?
As businesses and individuals become more reliant on technology, they inadvertently increase their security attack surface – the sum total of all the vulnerabilities that threat actors can exploit. Understanding your security attack surface is essential for developing an effective cybersecurity strategy. By gaining insights into your security attack surface, you can proactively safeguard your […]
Threat Intelligence & The Cyber Kill Chain: The Complete Guide
Every day that you prevent an attack is a good day. Sophisticated adversaries have the money, skills, and technologies to thwart most organizations’ defensive capabilities. With the rise of Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), less sophisticated attackers have access to payloads and customer service representatives to help them deploy successful attacks. By understanding attackers’ motivations and goals, you […]
