Sophos has published its 2023 Threat Report, which details how the cyberthreat landscape has reached a new level of commercialisation and convenience for would-be attackers, with nearly all barriers to entry for committing cybercrime removed through the expansion of cybercrime-as-a-service.
The report also addresses how ransomware remains one of the greatest cybercrime threats to organisations with operators innovating their extortion tactics, as well as how demand for stolen credentials continues to grow.
Criminal underground marketplaces like Genesis have long made it possible to buy malware and malware deployment services (malware-as-a-service), as well as to sell stolen credentials and other data in bulk. Over the last decade, with the increasing popularity of ransomware, an entire ransomware-as-a-service economy sprung up. Now, in 2022, this as-a-service model has expanded, and nearly every aspect of the cybercrime toolkit — from initial infection to ways to avoid detection — is available for purchase.
“This isn’t just the usual fare, such as malware, scamming and phishing kits for sale,” said Sean Gallagher, principal threat researcher, Sophos.
“Higher rung cybercriminals are now selling tools and capabilities that once were solely in the hands of some of the most sophisticated attackers as services to other actors. For example, this past year, we saw advertisements for OPSEC-as-a-service where the sellers offered to help attackers hide Cobalt Strike infections, and we saw scanning-as-a-service, which gives buyers access to legitimate commercial tools like Metasploit, so that they can find and then exploit vulnerabilities.
“The commoditisation of nearly every component of cybercrime is impacting the threat landscape and opening up opportunities ..
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