Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

2024 saw the highest-ever amount of ransomware attacks, according to a new report from NCC Group. There were 5,263 observed ransomware incidents last year, with the LockBit gang accounting for ten percent (526) of these attacks. RansomHub was the second most active group, accounting for 501 attacks. Notably, the industrial sector was the most commonly targeted, accounting for 27% of ransomware attacks in 2024 (a 15% increase from 2023).

In the bustling world of 1960s Madison Avenue, a young advertising executive named Lester Wunderman was about to revolutionize the industry. Wunderman, often called the father of direct marketing, had a simple yet profound insight: personalization was the key to capturing attention and driving action. Wunderman's breakthrough came when he created the Columbia Record Club, a mail-order service that tailored its offerings based on each member's past purchases and preferences. The results were staggering.

The rise of agentic AI tools will transform the cybercrime landscape, according to a new report from Malwarebytes. Agentic AI—which is still under development—is a step above the generative AI tools that are currently available to the public, and will likely be widely released in 2025. While these tools will have many legitimate uses, they’ll also enable cybercriminals to scale their attacks.

The recent UK Home Office proposal designed to hinder and disrupt ransomware operations through several proposed measures, including a targeted ban on ransomware payments, has again brought this question into the public square. The question of whether to pay a ransom demand is a decades-long argument with ardent opinions on both sides.

Ongoing campaign uses TorNet backdoor, Lynx ransomware group operates advanced affiliate program, and Cisco Talos releases Q4 incident response trends report.