PHILADELPHIA – Ransomware remains a persistent source of claims and losses even as cybercriminals have changed their strategies for treating data, industry experts said.
Criminals are turning to sorting and sifting data for information, rather than just encrypting it, using artificial intelligence to fuel their efforts, according to a panel speaking Tuesday at the NetDilligence Cyber Risk Summit.
“They’re not only stealing the data; they’re interrogating it to understand who the victim is,” said Andrea Vega, senior vice president, Latin America, cycomms and cyber risk, for Cypfer, a Miami-based cybersecurity firm. Analyzing stolen data can guide attackers in tailoring breaches for maximum effect, she said.
Cybercriminals can capitalize on the exfiltrated data using artificial intelligence, said Peter Hawley, head of strategic relationships for Digital Asset Redemption, a Chicago-based cryptocurrency company. “They’re much quicker to locate troublesome emails or the sensitive transactions that the company has been involved in,” he said.
Artificial intelligence has vastly reduced the “dwell time,” or the time an attacker spends in a compromised system, said Dan Ryan, managing director in the cyber risk practice of Kroll.
Using AI dwell time in some cases has shrunk to hours from days.
Advances in both recovery operations and law enforcement have also made encrypting data less desirable for attackers, the panelists said.
One criminal group relayed the message that they would no longer encrypt data because the time and effort involved were attracting the scrutiny of law enforcement and also leading to a lower financial return on their crimes, said Virginia Romero, associate director, cyber incident response lead at S-RM, a London-based cyber security firm.
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