Ride the Lightning

Cisco: Cyberattacks Designed to Destroy Systems on the Rise

August 1, 2017

SC Magazine recently and ominously reported that Cisco researchers are predicting more and larger cyberattacks that have the goal of destroying targeted systems of their victims, instead of financial gain or stealing information.

Cisco offered this forecast in its 2017 Midyear Cybersecurity Report where it cited the destructive nature of the NotPetya attacks, that appeared to be traditional ransomware, but were in fact something designed to wipe a target's system destroying its ability to operate. The is the model that Cisco thinks will be used more often and on a greater scale going forward, labeling this type of attack "destruction of service" (DeOS).

"There are signs that new types of attacks—more sinister and destructive than campaigns of the past—are in development. Adversaries are devising high-impact, well planned attacks that are designed to prevent any organization, big or small, from operating," the report stated. Law firm DLA Piper (among other businesses) could attest to the truth of that.

Cisco researchers see a particular threat in the rise of cybercriminals using Internet of Things devices for attacks, which suggested to them that malicious actors could be planning a massive attack potentially aimed at disrupting the Internet itself.

Remember the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times." Well, we sure do. And they get more "interesting" if Cisco is right.

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