E-Business
Remote Desktop Protocol Attacks Surge by 241 Percent in 2020
Due to remote-work, employees started using Microsoft’s client software called remote desktop protocol (RDP), which is used to access corporate resources remotely.
Cybercriminals immediately saw this as an opportunity to hack into the company’s systems. Since the work-from-home shift happened almost overnight, it exposed many improperly configured and, in turn, unsafe RDP servers.
According to data presented by the Atlas VPN research team, RDP attacks rocketed by 241% in 2020. In 2019, RDP attacks stood at 969 million, but in the year 2020, threat actors carried out a staggering 3.3 billion attacks.
This data is provided by Kaspersky, one of the biggest antivirus companies globally that protects more than 400 million users and 250,000 corporate clients.
Data reveals that RDP attacks have been steadily increasing since the start of 2019, but the pandemic accelerated the growth dramatically, which led to 3.3 billion cyber attacks from January to November 2020.
A deeper dive into the data reveals that in 2019, hackers carried out an average of 88,180,802 attacks per month. However, in 2020, the average number of RDP attacks per month soared to 302,020,526.
Moreover, in 2019, threat actors executed most attacks in September, at 160,234,416. Yet, in November 2020, hackers pulled off 409,155,016 RDP cyber attacks, representing a 155% increase when comparing the maximum number of attacks per month in 2019 and 2020.
Analysis of the RDP attack landscape
Most of the RDP cyber attacks are brute-force attacks. Cybercriminals attempt to find the correct credential combination that will allow the attacker to access the company’s target computer.
Worth noting that they are not using random username and password combinations. Hackers have millions of username and password combinations that were leaked from other businesses.
As a matter of fact, Atlas VPN recently reported that there were 37 billion data records leaked in 2020, a growth of 140% year-over-year. Meaning, there is no shortage of credentials that hackers can try.
After stumbling upon the correct combination, a threat actor can move laterally within the organization’s infrastructure until they find what they are looking for, be it financial data, contact information, user data, or any other sensitive information.
Hackers usually have one of two goals in mind when they are carrying out these attacks.
First – they want to steal the data to sell it to an already existing buyer that ordered the attack or they will put it up for sale on the dark web. The targeted information might be an intellectual property that gives an organization it’s competitive edge in the industry or its customers’ data.
Second – after stealing the data, they will contact the company demanding a ransom payment. If the enterprise agrees to pay, then hackers will hand over the data back to the company and promise to hide the fact that the company was compromised, allowing the enterprise to preserve it’s reputation.
By putting all of this into place, we can see the full journey a hacker has to go through to reach his goal – which is usually financial profit. Let’s go over it step-by-step to get a clearer picture.
To start, hackers purchase millions of leaked credentials from their cybercriminal colleagues. Then, they use those username and password combinations to hack into the company’s computer that uses the remote desktop protocol (RDP). Now, they have access to sensitive information that they can use to turn into profit.
Many might know the dangers of data leaks and remote desktop attacks, but here, we wanted to explain how all of this falls into place to benefit the criminal.
The Senate has passed a bill, seeking to repeal and re-enact the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act.
This followed adoption of report of Committee on National Identity Card and Population at plenary on Wednesday.
The report was presented by Senator Victor Umeh (LP-Anambra), chairman of the committee.
Senator Umeh in his presentation said the bill sought to provide for the establishment of a national identity database and the National Identity Management Commission.
According to him,the agency will be charged with responsibilities for maintenance of national database, the registration of individuals and the issuance of identity credentials.
He said the bill would lead to the creation of national identity database to source business biometric and empower NIMC to issue regulations and guidelines for implementation of the act and other related matters.
He said the bill sought to strengthen the legal framework of national and digital identity, hereby creating an optimal foundational identification ecosystem that fosters inclusion, universal coverage, and accessibility.
Senator Umeh said the act would establish a harmonious foundational identity system that is governed by a less restrictive, less cumbersome, non-discriminatory, non-punitive data protection, cost-effective, and compliance with global borders.
Senator Umeh said the bill, when passed into law, would address the challenges and limitations of national Identity management commission Act 2007, repeal it, and then close the gap of incomplete and inaccurate national identity database, provide efficient governance and service delivery.
He said the bill received overwhelming support from stakeholders at the public hearing due to the need to implement the long-awaited database system.
The World Bank has expressed concern over Nigeria’s poor statistical performance, noting that the country lags behind its aspirational peers such as Mexico, Colombia, South Africa and Brazil.
Mrs. Julie Osagie-Jacobs, director, Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, stated this in a statement after a courtesy visit to Senator Abubakar Bagudu, minister of Budget and Economic Planning, by a delegation from the World Bank led by Ndiame Diop, country director; and Mr Johan Mistiaen, practice mfor West and Central Africa, on Wednesday.
In his presentation titled “Next Level Statistics to Support Nigeria’s Reform and Growth Agenda,” Mistiaen stated that Nigeria’s statistical system was not on par with those of its developmental counterparts.
He advised that an annual investment of between $10m and $15m in the country’s statistical infrastructure would significantly improve performance and align Nigeria with its peers.
The statement read in part, “Earlier, Mr. Johan Mistiaen in his presentation on the next level statistics to support Nigeria’s reform and growth agenda, observed that the country’s statistical performance was not at par with its aspirational peers as Mexico, Colombia, South Africa and Brazil.
“He suggested that investing about $10-15m annually into the country’s statistical system can raise performance to that of its aspirational peers.”
Responding, Bagudu assured that the Federal Government would continue to guarantee the independence of the National Bureau of Statistics.
He commended the Bureau for consistently releasing credible and methodical data that have been relied upon by reputable international organisations.
The minister stressed that there would be no government interference in the operations of the NBS.
Federal government has disclosed that efforts are ongoing to link the National Social Register (NSR) to the National Identity Numbers (NIN).
Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, explained that the linked data would assist the country to anticipate crises, mobilize resources faster, and ensure aid reaches those who need it the most.
He said harnessing data would save the country and relevant stakeholders the stress and bottlenecks of outdated processes.
He also identified bureaucratic crisis as the biggest crisis in the humanitarian space which stalls responses to humanitarian issues.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the National Humanitarian Roundtable programme, the minister said: “People are traumatized by climate change, security threats and economic shock across the country and in the midst of these, we have limited funding.
“The biggest crisis we have is not just the people being killed, the crisis we have is a bureaucratic crisis that does not respond to a humanitarian crisis. Every delay in decision making, every inefficiency in coordination, every shortfall in funding, costs the life of people.
“They say knowledge is power, but knowledge can be destructive too. It can only be power if we use it effectively. By leveraging data and technology, we can anticipate crises; we can mobilize resources faster and ensure aid reaches those who are in need the most and without the bottleneck of outdated processes.
“We are linking the social register to national identity numbers and geotagging all homes of those who are vulnerable across the country so that if there’s any crisis, we don’t need to begin to walk around communities and taking names and asking the States Emergency Management Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for data.
Court Throws Out Falana’s Fraud Case against Ekeh, Zinox Boss and Others
FG to Halt Solar Panel Imports, Pushes for Local Manufacturing
FG Halts Controversial FRC Dues amid Industry Outcry
Nokia Unwraps 5G Gateway for Home Internet
Senate Passes Bill to Re-enact NIMC Act
News2 days agoPolice Arrest 4 Bank Staff over Alleged ₦270m Fraud, Money Laundering
E-Financial2 days agoUBA Grows Profit to ₦804Bn, Declares N3 Kobo Final Dividend
E-Business2 days agoNIMC to Prosecute Nigerians Printing ‘NIN Cards’, Says Only Slip is Legal
Telecom2 days agoOpen Access Fabrics Set to Drive Connectivity to Achieve a Digital Economy
E-Business2 days agoUnleashing Nigeria’s Business Potential: The Cloud as Catalyst for Growth
Telecom2 days agoMTN Nigeria and Pan-Atlantic University Invite Media Practitioners for 4th Media Innovation Programme
General News2 days agoAuthorities Seize 1842 Devices in African-Wide Cybercrime Crackdown
E-Financial2 days agoEnza Raises $6.75m Seed Funding to Boost Embedded Payment Solutions Across Africa