(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — With the pattern of everyday life shifting from face-to-face interactions to remote and non-face-to-face ones due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber threats are becoming more prevalent today than ever before.
In particular, ransomware, a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files and then demands a ransom from the victim to restore access to the data, is flourishing.
Global security firm SonicWall recently announced that the number of ransomware attacks detected in the first half of this year totaled about 120 million, up 20 percent from a year ago.
In South Korea, fashion and retail conglomerate E-Land Group recently suffered a ransomware attack, with some outlets of the group-affiliated NC Department Store and NewCore Outlet being temporarily or partially shut down.
Malicious attacks on personal computers also remain a pressing risk with many employees working from home.
The Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is commonly used by those working from home to access corporate networks. The number of hackers who attempt brute force attacks to log in to the RDP system is increasing.
According to anti-virus provider Kaspersky Lab, the number of brute force attacks on RDP accounts shot up to about 1 million cases per day from March, a sharp increase from 100,000 to 150,000 cases at the beginning of the year.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
