Eskenzi PR ad banner Eskenzi PR ad banner
  • About Us
Wednesday, 4 October, 2023
IT Security Guru
Eskenzi PR banner
  • Home
  • Features
  • Insight
  • Channel News
  • Events
    • Most Inspiring Women in Cyber 2022
  • Topics
    • Cloud Security
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber Warfare
    • Data Protection
    • DDoS
    • Hacking
    • Malware, Phishing and Ransomware
    • Mobile Security
    • Network Security
    • Regulation
    • Skills Gap
    • The Internet of Things
    • Threat Detection
    • AI and Machine Learning
    • Industrial Internet of Things
  • Multimedia
  • Product Reviews
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Features
  • Insight
  • Channel News
  • Events
    • Most Inspiring Women in Cyber 2022
  • Topics
    • Cloud Security
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber Warfare
    • Data Protection
    • DDoS
    • Hacking
    • Malware, Phishing and Ransomware
    • Mobile Security
    • Network Security
    • Regulation
    • Skills Gap
    • The Internet of Things
    • Threat Detection
    • AI and Machine Learning
    • Industrial Internet of Things
  • Multimedia
  • Product Reviews
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
IT Security Guru
No Result
View All Result

Civil society organisations see targeted attacks as strong as those against Governments

by The Gurus
September 11, 2020
in Editor's News
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are being bombarded with the same persistent and disruptive targeted cyber attacks which hit industry and Government.

According to a report by Citizen Lab, and the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, CSOs who work to protect human rights and civil liberties around the world are attacked heavily, yet have far fewer resources to deal with the problem and rarely receive the same attention as the former.

The report claimed that it “consistently” observes sophisticated social engineering and well-informed targeting, rather than a high degree of technical sophistication in the malware used. It claimed that the malware is only as technically advanced as it needs to be to generate results, requiring fewer resources to rely on known exploits so long as their targets remain susceptible to them for behavioural reasons.

“This approach works because key factors determining whether a compromise occurs are typically behavioural rather than technical in nature,” it said. “Once the compromise occurs, basic malware is no less dangerous than more advanced malware—even unsophisticated exploits can permit installation of RATs providing the ability to search for and exfiltrate files and contacts, activate a device’s video and audio recording, and log keystrokes.”

However it did find that attackers are adaptive, typically modifying or designing attacks for use against specific software (including mobile applications) and hardware to reflect new and emerging methods of communication among their targets.

“Attackers exhibit an evolving awareness of civil society technical trends and defences, which is reflected in their attack techniques,” it said. “As a general practice, attackers make improvements to the malware they employ. For numerous malware samples in our study we observed several versions of the malware appearing over time, showing evidence of technical improvements. Adaptations, however, go well beyond malware maintenance. They encompass a wide range of responses to new platforms and behaviours.”

This included a documented increase in Mobile and Mac malware, and specifically observed malware designed for OS X and Android.

Conducted over a four-year period, researchers watched as attackers modified their malicious software and other attack techniques based on the CSOs’ choices of operating systems, and specifically flagged Skype, Twitter and Gmail as vectors of malicious activity.

Professor Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab, said: “It is well known that computer espionage is a problem facing Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. Less well known and researched, however, are the ways in which these same type of attacks affect smaller organisations promoting human rights, freedom of speech, and access to information. We set out to fill this gap in knowledge.”

The report also said that CSOs are hard-pressed to resolve matters themselves, as they reported that they have an understanding of some of the digital risks they face, but in many cases noted a lack of capacity and resources to dedicate to the problem.

With rare exceptions, there is a lack of funding to hire technical security experts, or the opportunity to engage with Government on digital defence or overall policy in a manner that protects their security and confidentiality needs. Some bar
ely have dedicated IT staff, let alone experts to deal with the targeted attacks.

“Even if CSOs are able to undertake basic remediation after an attack, they are unlikely to be able to conduct the technical investigation and training necessary to fully understand and mitigate future threats,” it said.

FacebookTweetLinkedIn
Tags: AndroidCitizen LabCivil Society OrganisationsCyber AttackGmailGovernmentMalwareOS XSkypeTwitter
ShareTweet
Previous Post

Most wanted hacker used pet's name as a password

Next Post

Shellshock hit our old unpatched server, admit BrowserStack

Recent News

Cybersecurity has become the fastest growing start-up sector in UK

UK SME cyber threat concerns on the rise in last 12 months as a quarter admit to being breached

October 3, 2023

The State of Cybersecurity: Cyber skills gap leaves business vulnerable to attacks, new research reveals

October 3, 2023
threat hunting

Threat Hunting with MITRE ATT&CK

October 2, 2023
Guide to ransomware and how to detect it

Guide to ransomware and how to detect it

September 28, 2023

The IT Security Guru offers a daily news digest of all the best breaking IT security news stories first thing in the morning! Rather than you having to trawl through all the news feeds to find out what’s cooking, you can quickly get everything you need from this site!

Our Address: 10 London Mews, London, W2 1HY

Follow Us

© 2015 - 2019 IT Security Guru - Website Managed by Calm Logic

  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Features
  • Insight
  • Channel News
  • Events
    • Most Inspiring Women in Cyber 2022
  • Topics
    • Cloud Security
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber Warfare
    • Data Protection
    • DDoS
    • Hacking
    • Malware, Phishing and Ransomware
    • Mobile Security
    • Network Security
    • Regulation
    • Skills Gap
    • The Internet of Things
    • Threat Detection
    • AI and Machine Learning
    • Industrial Internet of Things
  • Multimedia
  • Product Reviews
  • About Us

© 2015 - 2019 IT Security Guru - Website Managed by Calm Logic

This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience.

Privacy settings

Privacy Settings / PENDING

This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit.

NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using.

GDPR Compliance

Powered by Cookie Information