Security Architecture, Endpoint/Device Security, IoT, Threat Management, Malware, Ransomware, Endpoint/Device Security, Endpoint/Device Security, Endpoint/Device Security

Cisco predicts a major increase in cyberattacks designed to destroy systems

Cisco researchers are predicting more and larger cyberattacks that have the goal of destroying their targets systems, 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 as a model that will be used more often and on a greater scale going forward. A type of attack Cisco labeled “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.

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

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