Cybercriminals will most often perpetrate their crime to right a perceived wrong, or for a great personal gain, such as monetary. The degree of loss may help suggest the motive and capability of the criminal. In order to understand the mindset, let’s break these attacks into categories:
- High-Visibility – loss is clearly identified, ransomware deployment, denial of service.
- Low-Visibility – loss discovered over a period of weeks or months, stealthy, concealed.
Within these two categories, there will be an Affiliated or Unaffiliated Actor, or group or organization known or unknown to the business or victim.
Examining the visibility and affiliation gives us insight into how and why these crimes occur. Ransomware attacks, for example, are growing exponentially. Global ransomware damages were predicted to exceed $5 billion in 2017, according to the Barkly Blog. In addition, low-visibility attacks can take up to 201 days to identify, according to the 2016 Ponemon Institute Cost of Data Breach Study.
From a victim’s perspective, how and why doesn’t matter and the law is on your side. The US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the UK Computer Misuse Act (CMA) define these crimes with the blanket term of “unauthorized access.” For every cyberattack, there is someone who can end up in jail. Report all cybercrimes to help prevent future attacks and protect potential victims.
Call us today at 800-538-0669 and take the first steps to defending yourself or your business against a cyberattack.
