In
its Internet
Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) report released today,
Europol has detailed today's top 8 most prevalent cybercrime trends, for which
investigators have seen a rise in detected incidents since the start of the
year.
The
report, which highlights an upward trend for volume, scope and material cost of
cybercrime, comes on the heels of UK authorities announcing earlier in the year
that cybercrime has surpassed traditional crime for the first time in their
country's history.
#1:
Crime-as-a-Service
Europol
says that the digital underground is shifting towards a Crime-as-a-Service
business model, with various individuals and groups specializing in a niche
crime and providing technical support and service for that crime alone using
online services.
From
illegal weapons sales to on-demand hacks, and from DDoS-for-Hire services to
exploit kit packages, you can buy online almost any type of cybercrime service
these days.
#2:
Ransomware
If
you read Softpedia's Security News section, you can hardly go one day without
reading a report on ransomware-related topics. Besides ransomware, Europol also
says that banking trojans have been a popular form of malware this year as
well.
#3:
The criminal use of data
Recent
hacks and data breaches have thrust troves of data in the public eye, which
crooks are leveraging for other hacks, fraud, and even extortion.
#4:
Payment fraud
Europol
says it received a large number of fraud complaints, which were traced back to
organized crime groups hacking ATMs, EMV, and contactless (NFC) cards.
#5:
Online child sexual abuse
The
large number of online tools and services providing complex and unbreakable
end-to-end encryption, along with anonymous payments supported via
crypto-currencies has resulted in "an escalation in the live streaming of
child abuse."
#6:
Abuse of the Darknet
More
and more crime-related activities have now moved to the Darknet (or Dark Web),
a portion of the Internet for which you need special software like Tor and I2P
to access. Criminals are taking advantage of the anonymity these networks
provide to go about their business unabated.
#7:
Social engineering
Europol
says that spear-phishing incidents aimed at high-value targets have gone up in
2016, and it highlights the increase in CEO fraud (BEC scams) attacks.
#8:
Virtual currencies
Europol
says Bitcoin has become the de-facto standard currency for extortion payments.
This is also the reason why Europol established a Bitcoin Money Laundering
Division earlier this month.
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