IBM X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services (IRIS) has been tracking cybercrime capitalizing on the coronavirus pandemic since January, and has observed the geographical areas of this activity shift over time. In February, cybercriminals were focusing on Asia, and we observed threat actors targeting potential victims in Japan with coronavirus-rel

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, IBM X-Force has observed a more than 6,000 percent increase in COVID-19-related spam, with lures ranging the full gamut of challenges and concerns facing individuals — from phishing emails impersonating the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the WHO to U.S.

IBM X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services (IRIS) responds to security incidents around the globe. During analysis and comparison of malicious activity on enterprise networks, our team identified attacks likely linked to Hive0065, also known as TA505. We observed that Hive0065 continues to spread the SDBbot remote-access Trojan (RAT) alongside o

The past two years have borne witness to the increasing collaboration between organized cybercrime groups to avoid duplication of efforts and maximize profits. Although this collaboration has primarily occurred between gangs developing and distributing well-known banking Trojans, such as Emotet, TrickBot and IcedID, it does not stop there. In a new and dange

Technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and neural networks are driven by deep learning — machine learning algorithms that get “smarter” with more data. The deepfake, a severe cybersecurity threat, wouldn’t be possible without deep learning. Deepfakes aside, we need to be aware that several machine learning models, including state-of

In recent years, remote work has become a growing trend. In 2018, however, only 3.6 percent of Americans worked entirely remotely. Due to changes in the global climate, many employers have shifted their workforces to remote work if their jobs can support it. With the sudden expansion of work-from-home and remote-work practices, chief information security off

IBM X-Force researchers recently analyzed an Android malware app that’s likely being pushed to infected users by the TrickBot Trojan. This app, dubbed “TrickMo” by our team, is designed to bypass strong authentication methods that bank customers use when they need to authorize a transaction. Though it’s not the first of its kind, this

In recent analysis of malicious activity likely targeting entities based in the Middle East, IBM X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services (IRIS) discovered backdoor malware packed with the legitimate Enigma Protector software. We named this malware “EnigmaSpark” per the Enigma Protector and the string “Spark4.2” from a .pdb

Global events such as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) make all of us attractive targets for cybersecurity criminals. Whether it’s phishing emails or new targeted scams, these tactics are meant to take advantage of citizens who are understandably concerned about their safety and health during this challenging time. COVID-19 email exploits can deliver damagin

The volume of threats that security teams see on a daily basis can make it especially difficult to look at the big picture when it comes to developing an effective cybersecurity strategy. To see through the flood of data and alerts, organizations depend on actionable threat intelligence to help them understand and mitigate risks. Looking at long-term trends

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t new. What is new is the growing ubiquity of AI in large organizations. In fact, by the end of this year, I believe nearly every type of large organization will find AI-based cybersecurity tools indispensable. Artificial intelligence is many things to many people. One fairly neutral definition is that it’s a bran

We’ve written about deepfakes before, but there’s one overlooked side effect that must be brought to our attention: As the technology improves and becomes more commonplace, what’s stopping anyone from claiming that what they definitively said was the result of a deepfake? While watching a recent episode of The New York Times’ “T

It’s been nearly six months since the WannaCry ransomware stole global headlines and thousands of security practitioners flocked to threat intelligence feeds to help streamline their investigations. While the security community has learned many valuable lessons from the attack, it’s impossible to say that a strike of this magnitude won’t ha

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 24, 2017, organizations in Russia and Ukraine reported being hit with a ransomware outbreak that paralyzed their operations. Sporadic cases were also recorded in Turkey, Germany, Bulgaria and Japan, according to reports from different sources. The malware, self-titled Bad Rabbit, is a ransomware code designed to encrypt and lock file

How often have you heard a co-worker say that he or she had to put out a fire? Depending on your job role, you may have anywhere from one to more than a dozen so-called fires weekly. A zero-day vulnerability is an example of a work-related fire that a security operations analyst might have to extinguish. Enterprises should be prepared to handle zero-day fir