Abstract
This study examines and reports the trends of social engineering-based ransomware attacks over the past four years from three major technology corporations. The focus of the reports was on major threat actors and their attacks against the corporations and their clients. The data were organized chronologically by year, and prevalent or abnormal findings were shared in this report. It was found that social engineering attacks were tremendously effective. Many ransomware attacks stemmed from Phishing. Social engineering approaches allowed attackers to conduct breaches using ransomware applications like GandCrab and Ryuk. Humans are incredibly susceptible and fall for social engineering tactics- primarily Phishing. The information reflected in this report ought to be used to motivate businesses to increase spending and training opportunities for employees to help defend against these social engineering-based attacks.
Document Type
Paper
Disciplines
Information Security
DOI
10.25776/9wj4-zk43
Publication Date
2022
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Examining Trends and Experiences of the Last Four Years of Socially Engineered Ransomware Attacks
This study examines and reports the trends of social engineering-based ransomware attacks over the past four years from three major technology corporations. The focus of the reports was on major threat actors and their attacks against the corporations and their clients. The data were organized chronologically by year, and prevalent or abnormal findings were shared in this report. It was found that social engineering attacks were tremendously effective. Many ransomware attacks stemmed from Phishing. Social engineering approaches allowed attackers to conduct breaches using ransomware applications like GandCrab and Ryuk. Humans are incredibly susceptible and fall for social engineering tactics- primarily Phishing. The information reflected in this report ought to be used to motivate businesses to increase spending and training opportunities for employees to help defend against these social engineering-based attacks.