Attacks on web applications spike in third quarter, new Talos IR data shows

Quarterly threat report: Telecommunications and education are most-targeted verticals

There was a notable increase in threats to web applications, accounting for 30 percent of the engagements Cisco Talos Incident Response (Talos IR) responded to in the third quarter of 2023, compared to 8 percent the previous quarter. Exploitation of public-facing applications was the top observed means of gaining initial access, accounting for 30 percent of engagements. The high number of web application attacks likely played a significant role in the increase this quarter.  

However, ever-present ransomware continues to be a threat, accounting for 10 percent of engagements. This quarter, which covers July, August and September, featured the LockBit and BlackByte ransomware families, which Talos IR has observed in previous quarters. But for the very first time, Talos IR observed a new variant of BlackByte ransomware, BlackByte NT. 

 Telecommunications and education were the most targeted verticals, each accounting for 20 percent of engagements. Threat actors and groups with varying motives and sophistication frequently targeted telecommunications organizations, continuing a trend where it was consistently a top-targeted industry vertical in 2022, according to Talos IR.  

Telecommunications companies are attractive targets due to their control over several critical infrastructure assets, serving as a gateway for adversaries to access other businesses, subscribers, or third-party providers. These organizations also have a large amount of customer data that is often targeted by financially motivated cybercriminals such as ransomware groups.   

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