What’s New in Cybersecurity in 2023, Will Ransomware Shift Your Main Focus from Encryption?
2023 cyber security: A visible increase was seen ransomware incident including data theft encryption incidentWhile this is nothing new in 2022, it has become apparent that attackers favor a variety of extortion techniques. In addition to the growing importance of data deletion, this trend is predicted to gain momentum in 2023, with a resurgence of interest in backing up data. Corresponding to these increases, the number of encryption events will likely decrease.
One of the most sophisticated and feared threats in today’s security landscape is ransomware. ransomware is a specific type of malware that aims to force encryption of the victim’s files. The attacker then demands money from the victim in exchange for a decryption key that can be used to regain access to the data. Costs can range from hundreds to millions of dollars on top of the inconvenience experienced when data is unavailable. Furthermore, even if the ransom is paid, there is no guarantee that the requested keys will be delivered. Ransomware prevention should be a top priority for all organizations cyber- Ransomware attacks pose a much higher risk than simple data theft, so defense strategies need to be beefed up.
What is ransomware encryption?
Malware authors and online scammers operate using the same suite of ciphers that governments use to protect sensitive information.
RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman).
SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm).
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard).
ECDH (Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman).
These are just acronyms that malware authors don’t understand how to use strong ciphers or how ciphers work. For this reason, we first define what encryption is. In theory, encryption refers to the process of encrypting data so that only those with access can decode it.
What encoding (and ransomware encryption) actually does is replace characters with new characters. Combining such characters with a particular replacement method reveals an encoding cipher. The same idea is used for file encryption, except that the file’s normal code is replaced with new characters. Characters are replaced differently depending on the algorithm used and its strength.
Now that we know how it works, let’s take a look at the different types of encryption available. Two types of him are known for this:
Symmetric (secret) key cryptography – Systems where the sender and receiver keys are identical. It is currently used by the majority of chat systems such as Viber, Skype, etc. and is mainly used for secure communication.
public key cryptography – This kind of encryption involves public keys that are widely accessible to everyone. The user only needs to know the decryption key.
Will ransomware stop focusing on encryption?
Ransomware will stop focusing primarily on encryption in 2023. The ability of ransomware victims to recover their data without paying attackers for decryption is improving thanks to technology and generally accepted best practices. This is related to the fact that many public conversations have come up that buying a decryptor often results in data loss or a ransom demand.
Cybercriminals have discovered that the “hack and leak” component of ransomware events offers a second extortion alternative or another revenue stream. This becomes more apparent as rules and governance requirements become more commonplace.
Conclusion: Creating an efficient encryption/decryption tool requires more technical work than simply stealing data and then using various techniques to modify the victim’s data. For ransomware criminals, stealing data, offering to “sell it back” and, if that doesn’t work, threatening to disclose the data publicly or sell it to other malicious parties is probably technically plausible. Data destruction can also cause a lot of stress for victims, which benefits cybercriminals.