New CrowdStrike threat hunting report reveals dramatic rise In Ecrime activity

The annual report reviews intrusion trends during the first half of 2020 and provides insights into the current landscape of adversary tactics...

...which has been heavily impacted this year by the remote workforce environment of COVID-19

Some of the report's findings include:

1. First half of 2020 hands-on-keyboard intrusion activity surpasses all of 2019

This significant increase is driven primarily by the continued acceleration of eCrime activity but has also been impacted by the effects of the pandemic

2. eCrime continues to increase in volume and reach

Sophisticated eCrime activity continues to outpace state-sponsored activity, an upward trend that OverWatch has witnessed over the past three years, accounting for over 80% of interactive intrusions

3. Targeting of the manufacturing sector increases dramatically

Image Source: retail technology

There was a sharp escalation of activity in the manufacturing sector in the first half of 2020 in terms of both the quantity and sophistication of intrusions from both eCriminals and nation states

4. China continues its aim at telecommunications companies

The telecommunications industry continues to be a popular target for the nation-states, specifically China

“The threat landscape has proven unpredictable and precarious as eCrime has taken aim at industries unable to escape the chaos of COVID-19..."

...demonstrating clearly how cyber threat activity is intrinsically linked to global economic and geo-political forces,” said Jennifer Ayers, vice president of OverWatch and Security Response.