Businesses are facing increasingly sophisticated threats from ransomware groups, hacktivists, and individual attackers. The 2024 Arctic Wolf Security Operations Report sheds light on the key trends shaping the modern threat environment and provides actionable insights for businesses to enhance their cybersecurity postures.
Troye technical director Kurt Goodall says one of the dominant themes in this year’s report is the evolving nature of cyber threats. “Despite the rapid advances in technology, tried-and-true methods like social engineering and exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities remain incredibly effective.”
“In fact, Arctic Wolf’s observations indicate that exploitation of known vulnerabilities with available patches outnumber the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities by 7.5 times,” he adds.
Furthermore, the report highlights a disturbing trend of increased phishing activity, with a notable 500% spike observed in just one month. Attackers continue to exploit world events, political upheavals, and natural disasters to lure unsuspecting victims. In April 2024 alone, phishing attempts surged by 150%, coinciding with major political announcements and occurrences as well as ongoing conflicts Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts.
In addition, Arctic Wolf’s 2024 SOC report highlights the critical need for 24×7 security operations, with 45% of the security alerts issued by their SOC being generated outside of regular working hours and 20% occurring on weekends.
Identity: The emerging battleground
Identity and access management (IAM) telemetry has emerged as the most common source of early threat detection, responsible for seven of the top 10 indicators of compromise leading to security investigations by the Arctic Wolf SOC.
Unauthorised credential usage and account takeovers (ATOs) remain a significant concern, with infostealers like the Win32.Zbot trojan appearing in over 2,000 weekly instances. These findings underscore the need for businesses to implement robust IAM systems and continuous monitoring to mitigate identity-based attacks.
Manufacturers under siege
Goodall says manufacturers are increasingly becoming targets of cyber espionage and intellectual property theft. “More than 26% of alerts in this year’s report were related to threats targeting manufacturers, a staggering 2.6x higher than expected. This finding aligns with growing concerns about industrial espionage, particularly as certain countries push for industrial modernisation.”
Ransomware: A persistent threat
Despite law enforcement takedowns and growing distrust between ransomware groups, ransomware remains a major threat. Arctic Wolf Security Engineers responded to 158 ransomware attempts between May 2023 and April 2024.
Arctic Wolf notes that, “an effective SecOps function dramatically reduces the risk posed by ransomware.” Highlighting the importance of monitoring ransomware precursors such as initial access to the environment, the establishment of persistence, and the reconnaissance and exfiltration of data as a way to disrupt the attack chain of a ransomware attack.
The importance of vulnerability remediation
One of the simplest and most effective ways to mitigate cyber risk is through vulnerability remediation. Attackers continue to exploit core business applications like Windows 10, MS Outlook, and Cisco IOS, with many vulnerabilities remaining unpatched for months or even years. Organisations are urged to prioritise remediation efforts, as known vulnerabilities outnumber zero-day threats by 7.5 to 1.
The 2024 Security Operations Report emphasises the critical importance of around-the-clock monitoring and a robust SecOps strategy. Organisations that can effectively operationalise their cybersecurity investments, respond swiftly to alerts, and build resilience through vulnerability management and identity protection will be far better equipped to defend against modern cyber threats.
“As the report states, effective security operations is your best defence against today’s financially motivated attacks and government-backed espionage. For organisations seeking to safeguard their digital infrastructure, the report offers a comprehensive view of the threats they face and practical solutions to reduce cyber risk,” he concludes.