Remote desktop cyberattacks top new high
RDP attack attempts rose by 768 percent last year
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As employees around the world were busy making the transition toworking from homelast year, cybercriminals were quick to capitalize on the fact that their home networks lacked the security and safeguards found on corporate networks.
While some workers usedVPNservices to connect to their corporate networks, many relied onremote desktop softwareincludingMicrosoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) which comes included with Windows 10.
Due to the high number of users leveraging RDP, the cybersecurity firmESETsaw a record 768 percent increase in RDP attack attempts last year, according to itsQ4 2020 Threat Report.
Chief research officer at ESET, Roman Kováč explained in apress releasehow cybercriminals often use RDP as a means to deployransomware, saying:
“RDP security is not to be underestimated especially due to ransomware, which is commonly deployed through RDP exploits, and, with its increasingly aggressive tactics, poses a great risk to both private and public sectors. As the security of remote work gradually improves, the boom in attacks exploiting RDP is expected to slow down – we already saw some signs of this in Q4.”
2020 Threats
ESET’s Q4 2020 Threat Report also offers further insight on how the cybersecurity firm took part in a global disruption campaign alongside Microsoft, FS-ISAC, Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs, NTT and Broadcom’s cybersecurity division Symantec to take downTrickBot.
By working together to disrupt one of the largest and longest-lived botnets, the firms coordinated efforts resulted in 94 percent of TrickBot’s servers being taken down in a single week.
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The Q4 2020 Threat Report also goes into detail about how ESET researchers discovered a previously unknown APT group named XDSpy which targeted the Balkans and Eastern Europe as well as how the firm discovered a remarkable number ofsupply chain attackslast year.
ViaThe Register
After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.
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