Backdoor Deployment and Ransomware: Top Threats Identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023

<!doctype html> <html lang="en-US"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/favicon.ico" sizes="32x32" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,minimum-scale=1,initial-scale=1,maximum-scale=1">  <title>Backdoor Deployment and Ransomware: Top Threats Identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023</title>   <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000">  <meta name="referrer" content="no-referrer-when-downgrade"> <script src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/stats/ibm-common.js" type="text/javascript" async="async"></script>   <script async src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0.js"></script> <script async custom-element="amp-list" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-list-0.1.js"></script> <script async custom-template="amp-mustache" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-mustache-0.2.js"></script> <script async custom-element="amp-accordion" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-accordion-0.1.js"></script> <script custom-element="amp-animation" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-animation-0.1.js" async></script> <script custom-element="amp-position-observer" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-position-observer-0.1.js" async></script> <script async custom-element="amp-bind" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-bind-0.1.js"></script> <script async custom-element="amp-autocomplete" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-autocomplete-0.1.js"></script> <script async custom-element="amp-social-share" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-social-share-0.1.js"></script> <script type="module" src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/carbon-for-ibm-dotcom/version/v1.35.0/card-section-simple.min.js"></script> <script type="module" src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/carbon-for-ibm-dotcom/tag/v1/latest/card-section-simple.min.js"></script> <script type="module" src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/carbon-for-ibm-dotcom/tag/v1/next/card-section-simple.min.js"></script> <script type="module" src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/carbon-for-ibm-dotcom/version/v2.11.0/card.min.js"></script> <script type="module" src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/carbon-for-ibm-dotcom/version/v2.11.0/image.min.js"></script> <script async custom-element="amp-lightbox-gallery" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-lightbox-gallery-0.1.js"></script> <script src="https://unpkg.com/swiper/swiper-bundle.min.js"></script> <script async custom-element="amp-video" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-video-0.1.js"></script> <script async custom-element="amp-youtube" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-youtube-0.1.js"></script> <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Close-up-of-a-smartphone-in-a-male-hands.-The-concept-of-online-messaging-social-media-communication-browsing-the-internet-websites-reading-news.-Wireless-technologies-gadgets-300x158.jpeg.webp" media="(max-width: 300px)"> <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Close-up-of-a-smartphone-in-a-male-hands.-The-concept-of-online-messaging-social-media-communication-browsing-the-internet-websites-reading-news.-Wireless-technologies-gadgets-630x330.jpeg.webp" media="(max-width: 1200px) and (min-width: 301px)"> <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Close-up-of-a-smartphone-in-a-male-hands.-The-concept-of-online-messaging-social-media-communication-browsing-the-internet-websites-reading-news.-Wireless-technologies-gadgets.jpeg.webp" media="(max-width: 2400px) and (min-width: 631px)"> <link rel="preload" as="image" href="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Close-up-of-a-smartphone-in-a-male-hands.-The-concept-of-online-messaging-social-media-communication-browsing-the-internet-websites-reading-news.-Wireless-technologies-gadgets.jpeg.webp" media="(max-width: 2400px) and (min-width: 1201px)">    <script> // Digital Registry digitalData = { "page": { "category": { "primaryCategory": "Threat Intelligence" }, "pageInfo": { "language": "en-US", "country": "US", "version": "custom", "effectiveDate": "2023-02-21", "publishDate": "2023-02-21", "optimizely": { "enabled": "false", }, "ibm": { "contentDelivery": "WordPress", "contentProducer": "Hand coded", "owner": "", "siteID": "SECURITYINTELLIGENCE", "type": "Xforce", } } } } // Custom Click Tagging // Collect and send clicks not detectable by ida_stats.js function sendClickTag(section, feature, destination) { console.log(section + " " + feature) var config = { type: 'ELEMENT', primaryCategory: section, // e_a1 - Element Category eventName: feature, // e_a2 - Element Name targetURL: destination, // e_a7 - Element Attribute: ibmEvTarget }; ibmStats.event(config); } // Custom Click Tagging // Collect and send clicks not detectable by ida_stats.js // function sendClickConversion(feature, title) { // var config = { // type : 'pageclick', // primaryCategory : 'PAGE CLICK', // eventCategoryGroup : "TIMELINE - SECURITY INTELLIGENCE", // eventName : feature, // targetTitle : title // }; // ibmStats.event(config); // } // Custom Link Event // Add clicktag event on every link inside the element function tagAllLinks(element, section, feature) { var element = document.querySelectorAll(element); if (typeof(element) != 'undefined' && element != null) { for (var i = 0; i < element.length; i++) { var elements = element[i].querySelectorAll("a:not(.btn)"); for (var o = 0; o < elements.length; o++) { if (elements[o].getAttribute('listener') !== 'true') { var destination = elements[o].getAttribute('href'); elements[o].addEventListener('click', function() { if (this.getAttribute('listener') === 'true') { sendClickTag(section, feature, this.getAttribute('href')); this.setAttribute('listener', 'false'); } }, false); elements[o].setAttribute('listener', 'true'); } } } } } window.onload = function() { // Call to action click tag var ctaButton = document.querySelectorAll(".single__content a"); if (typeof(ctaButton) != 'undefined' && ctaButton != null && ctaButton.length !== 0) { for (var i = 0; i < ctaButton.length; i++) { ctaButton[i].addEventListener('click', function() { if (this.getAttribute('listener') === 'true') { sendClickTag("BODY", "CALL TO ACTION"); this.setAttribute('listener', 'false'); } }, false); ctaButton[i].setAttribute('listener', 'true'); } } // Read more click tag var readButton = document.querySelectorAll(".continue-reading button"); if (typeof(readButton) != 'undefined' && readButton != null && readButton.length !== 0) { for (var i = 0; i < readButton.length; i++) { readButton[i].addEventListener('click', function() { if (this.getAttribute('listener') === 'true') { sendClickTag("BODY", "READ-MORE"); this.setAttribute('listener', 'false'); } }, false); readButton[i].setAttribute('listener', 'true'); } } // LISTICLES tag - Arrows //left arrow var leftArrow = document.getElementById("prev"); if (typeof(leftArrow) != 'undefined' && leftArrow != null) { //for (var i = 0; i < leftArrow.length; i++) { leftArrow.addEventListener('click', function() { if (this.getAttribute('listener') === 'true' && leftArrow.id == "prev") { sendClickTag("BODY", "LISTICLE-LEFT-ARROW"); this.setAttribute('listener', 'false'); } }, false); leftArrow.setAttribute('listener', 'true'); //} } //right arrow var rightArrow = document.getElementById("next"); if (typeof(rightArrow) != 'undefined' && rightArrow != null) { //for (var i = 0; i < rightArrow.length; i++) { rightArrow.addEventListener('click', function() { if (this.getAttribute('listener') === 'true' && rightArrow.id == "next") { sendClickTag("BODY", "LISTICLE-RIGHT-ARROW"); this.setAttribute('listener', 'false'); } }, false); rightArrow.setAttribute('listener', 'true'); //} } // LISTICLES tag - numbers var listicleTopButton = document.querySelectorAll(".listicle__pagination__numbers"); if (typeof(listicleTopButton) != 'undefined' && listicleTopButton != null && listicleTopButton.length !== 0) { for (var i = 0; i < listicleTopButton.length; i++) { var currentSlide = 1; listicleTopButton[i].addEventListener('click', function() { if (this.getAttribute('listener') === 'true') { currentSlide++; var total = i; // var clickedSlides=currentSlide/2; // console.log(clickedSlides.toFixed()); //I'm removing 2 because 2 arrows on the listicle are unclickable, but present on the DOM // clickableArrows = i-2; // clickableArrows = i-1; // I'm deviding by 2 because on each slide we have 2 arrows, so we were actually sendind the double of tags // clickableArrows= clickableArrows/2; // console.log(i); // clickableArrows.toFixed(); if (currentSlide <= total) { sendClickTag("PAGE CLICK", "LISTICLE-NAVIGATION-SLIDE" + currentSlide); this.setAttribute('listener', 'false'); } else { sendClickTag("PAGE CLICK", "LISTICLE-NAVIGATION-END"); this.setAttribute('listener', 'false'); } } }, false); listicleTopButton[i].setAttribute('listener', 'true'); } } // // Timeline box click tag // var boxButton = document.querySelectorAll(".timeline__content .box"); // if (typeof(boxButton) != 'undefined' && boxButton != null && boxButton.length !== 0) { // for (var i = 0; i < boxButton.length; i++) { // boxButton[i].addEventListener('click', function(){ // if (this.getAttribute('listener') === 'true') { // sendClickConversion("DETAILED VIEW", this.getAttribute('data-title')); // this.setAttribute('listener', 'false'); // } // }, false); // boxButton[i].setAttribute('listener', 'true'); // } // } }; </script>  <script defer src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/stats/ida_stats.js" type="text/javascript"></script>  <style amp-boilerplate> body { -webkit-animation: -amp-start 8s steps(1, end) 0s 1 normal both; -moz-animation: -amp-start 8s steps(1, end) 0s 1 normal both; -ms-animation: -amp-start 8s steps(1, end) 0s 1 normal both; animation: -amp-start 8s steps(1, end) 0s 1 normal both } @-webkit-keyframes -amp-start { from { visibility: hidden } to { visibility: visible } } @-moz-keyframes -amp-start { from { visibility: hidden } to { visibility: visible } } @-ms-keyframes -amp-start { from { visibility: hidden } to { visibility: visible } } @-o-keyframes -amp-start { from { visibility: hidden } to { visibility: visible } } @keyframes -amp-start { from { visibility: hidden } to { visibility: visible } } </style><noscript> <style amp-boilerplate> body { -webkit-animation: none; -moz-animation: none; -ms-animation: none; animation: none } </style> </noscript> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/minifications/modules.css?v=1715191630">  <meta name='robots' content='max-image-preview:large' /> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/15.0.3\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/15.0.3\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/securityintelligence.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=6.6.2"}}; /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(i,n){var o,s,e;function c(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(o,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function p(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data),r=(e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0),new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data));return t.every(function(e,t){return e===r[t]})}function u(e,t,n){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf3","\ud83c\uddfa\u200b\ud83c\uddf3")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!n(e,"\ud83d\udc26\u200d\u2b1b","\ud83d\udc26\u200b\u2b1b")}return!1}function f(e,t,n){var r="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):i.createElement("canvas"),a=r.getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(a.textBaseline="top",a.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(function(e){o[e]=t(a,e,n)}),o}function t(e){var t=i.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,i.head.appendChild(t)}"undefined"!=typeof Promise&&(o="wpEmojiSettingsSupports",s=["flag","emoji"],n.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},e=new Promise(function(e){i.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,{once:!0})}),new Promise(function(t){var n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(o));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(s),u.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"}),a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=function(e){c(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}c(n=f(s,u,p))}t(n)}).then(function(e){for(var t in e)n.supports[t]=e[t],n.supports.everything=n.supports.everything&&n.supports[t],"flag"!==t&&(n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&n.supports[t]);n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!n.supports.flag,n.DOMReady=!1,n.readyCallback=function(){n.DOMReady=!0}}).then(function(){return e}).then(function(){var e;n.supports.everything||(n.readyCallback(),(e=n.source||{}).concatemoji?t(e.concatemoji):e.wpemoji&&e.twemoji&&(t(e.twemoji),t(e.wpemoji)))}))}((window,document),window._wpemojiSettings); /* ]]> */ </script> <style id='wp-emoji-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> img.wp-smiley, img.emoji { display: inline !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; height: 1em !important; width: 1em !important; margin: 0 0.07em !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; background: none !important; padding: 0 !important; } </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='wp-block-library-css' href='https://securityintelligence.com/wp-includes/css/dist/block-library/style.min.css?ver=6.6.2' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> /*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} </style> <style id='global-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> :root{--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--square: 1;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--4-3: 4/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-4: 3/4;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-2: 3/2;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--2-3: 2/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--16-9: 16/9;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--9-16: 9/16;--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}.is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}.is-layout-flex > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}.is-layout-grid > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;} :where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;} :where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;} :root :where(.wp-block-pullquote){font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;} </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='taxonomy-image-plugin-public-css' href='https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/plugins/taxonomy-images/css/style.css?ver=0.9.6' type='text/css' media='screen' /> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1" id="jquery-core-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js?ver=3.4.1" id="jquery-migrate-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/app/javascript/si-theme-cookie.js?ver=6.6.2" id="si-cookie-consent-js"></script> <link rel="https://api.w.org/" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-json/" /><link rel="alternate" title="JSON" type="application/json" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-json/wp/v2/xforce/440527" /><link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://securityintelligence.com/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 6.6.2" /> <link rel='shortlink' href='https://securityintelligence.com/?p=440527' /> <link rel="alternate" title="oEmbed (JSON)" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityintelligence.com%2Fx-force%2F2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report%2F" /> <link rel="alternate" title="oEmbed (XML)" type="text/xml+oembed" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityintelligence.com%2Fx-force%2F2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report%2F&format=xml" /> <link rel="icon" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SI_primary_rgb-80x80.png" sizes="32x32" /> <link rel="icon" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SI_primary_rgb.png" sizes="192x192" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SI_primary_rgb.png" /> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SI_primary_rgb.png" /> <style amp-custom>@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=IBM+Plex+Sans:200,300,400,500,600');@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=IBM+Plex+Sans+Condensed:300,400,500,600,700');@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=IBM+Plex+Serif&display=swap')</style><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/swiper/swiper-bundle.min.css"><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/minifications/single.css?v=1722279696">   <meta name="description" content="Explore top trends within the evolving threat landscape in the 2023 IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index."/> <meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Backdoor Deployment and Ransomware: Top Threats Identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023" /> <meta property="og:description" content="Explore top trends within the evolving threat landscape in the 2023 IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index." /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Security Intelligence" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="Extortion" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="IBM X-Force Research" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="Phishing" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="Ransomware" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="ransomware attacks" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="Spear Phishing" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="threat analysis" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="Threat Intelligence" /> <meta property="article:tag" content="X-Force" /> <meta property="article:section" content="Threat Intelligence" /> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="3703311399714818" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration.png" /> <meta property="og:image:secure_url" content="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration.png" /> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" /> <meta property="og:image:height" content="630" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Explore top trends within the evolving threat landscape in the 2023 IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index." /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Backdoor Deployment and Ransomware: Top Threats Identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023" /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration.png" /> <script type='application/ld+json' class='yoast-schema-graph yoast-schema-graph--main'>{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://securityintelligence.com/#website","url":"https://securityintelligence.com/","name":"Security Intelligence","inLanguage":"en-US","description":"Analysis and Insight for Information Security Professionals","potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://securityintelligence.com/?s={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Illustration depicting connected circles, representative of data from the 2023 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index."},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/#webpage","url":"https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/","name":"Backdoor Deployment and Ransomware: Top Threats Identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://securityintelligence.com/#website"},"inLanguage":"en-US","primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2023-02-22T03:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-14T21:13:16+00:00","description":"Explore top trends within the evolving threat landscape in the 2023 IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index."}]}</script>  </head> <body class="si_body" > <nav id="navigation" class="navigation navigation--homepage " aria-label="Security Intelligence"> <div class="container"> <div class="row">  <div class="navigation__brand"> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com" title="Security Intelligence" tabindex="1"> <amp-img width="280" height="31" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/logo-white.svg" alt="Security Intelligence Logo"> <div fallback> <h6>Security Intelligence</h6> </div> </amp-img> </a> </div>  <div class="navigation__menu" onmouseleave="delete localStorage['megamenu-status']"> <a tabindex="2" id="nav-news" href="/news/" class="navigation__button " data-menu="megamenu__news" onclick="localStorage['megamenu-status'] = 'first-interaction';">News</a> <a tabindex="4" id="nav-topics" href="/category/topics/" class="navigation__button " data-menu="megamenu__topics" onclick="localStorage['megamenu-status'] = 'first-interaction';">Topics</a> <a tabindex="5" id="nav-x-force" href="/x-force/" class="navigation__button " data-menu="megamenu__threat" onclick="localStorage['megamenu-status'] = 'first-interaction';">X-Force</a> <a tabindex="6" id="nav-media" href="/media/" class="navigation__button " data-menu="megamenu__podcast" onclick="localStorage['megamenu-status'] = 'first-interaction';">Podcast</a> <button aria-label="search Button" class="navigation__search" onclick="document.getElementById('search__input').focus()" on="tap:search.toggleClass(class='megamenu__open')" role="link" tabindex="-1" type="button"> <amp-img tabindex="7" width="24" height="24" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/search.svg" alt="Click to open the search bar"></amp-img> </button> </div>  <div id="search-tablet" class="navigation__menu navigation__menu--tablet" tabindex="-1"> <button type="button" class="navigation__button " data-menu="megamenu__news">News</button> <button type="button" class="navigation__button " data-menu="megamenu__topics" on="tap:megamenu__news.hide, megamenu__series.hide, megamenu__topics.show, megamenu__industries.hide, megamenu__threat.hide, megamenu__podcast.hide, megamenu__events.hide, megamenu__mask.show" role="link" tabindex="0">Topics</button> <button type="button" class="navigation__button " data-menu="megamenu__threat" on="tap:megamenu__news.hide, megamenu__series.hide, megamenu__topics.hide, megamenu__industries.hide, megamenu__threat.show, megamenu__podcast.hide, megamenu__events.hide, megamenu__mask.show" role="link" tabindex="0">Threat Research</button> <button type="button" class="navigation__button " data-menu="megamenu__podcast" on="tap:megamenu__news.hide, megamenu__series.hide, megamenu__topics.hide, megamenu__industries.hide, megamenu__threat.hide, megamenu__podcast.show, megamenu__events.hide, megamenu__mask.show" role="link" tabindex="0">Podcast</button> <button type="button" aria-labelledby="search-tablet" class="navigation__search" onclick="document.getElementById('search__input').focus()" on="tap:search.toggleClass(class='megamenu__open')" role="link" tabindex="0"> <amp-img width="24" height="24" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/search.svg" alt="Search"></amp-img> </button> </div>  <form id="search" class="search " method="GET" action="/" target="_top" tabindex="-1"> <amp-autocomplete filter="prefix" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/app/jsons/suggestions.json" suggest-first submit-on-enter on="select:search.submit" tabindex="-1"> <input id="search__input" tabindex="-1" type="text" name="s" autocomplete="on" placeholder="What would you like to search for?" aria-label="Search" oninput="validateInput(this)" required> </amp-autocomplete> <button tabindex="-1" value="submit" type="submit" class="search__submit" aria-label="Click to search"> <amp-img width="20" height="20" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/search.svg" alt="Search"></amp-img> <span>Search</span> </button> <button tabindex="-1" value="reset" class="search__close" type="reset" aria-labelledby="search" on="tap:search.toggleClass(class='megamenu__open')" role="link"> <amp-img width="14" height="14" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/close.svg" alt="Close"></amp-img> </button> </form>  <div id="navigation__mega">  <section id="megamenu__news" class="megamenu" data-menu="nav-news" on="tap:megamenu__news.show, megamenu__mask.show" role="link" tabindex="0"> <amp-list layout="responsive" width="1440" height="248" credentials="include" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/app/jsons/posts.php?quantity=4&type=ibm_news" binding="no"> <template type="amp-mustache"> <div class="row">  {{#articles}} <article class="megamenu__article"> <a href="{{permalink}}" class="megamenu__link"> <div class="megamenu__image"> <amp-img width="630" height="330" layout="responsive" src="{{image}}" alt="{{image_alt}}"></amp-img> </div> <h3 class="megamenu__title">{{title}}</h3> </a> </article> {{/articles}}  <a href="/news/" class="megamenu__more"> <amp-img width="24" height="24" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/post-type-icons/news.svg" alt="News"></amp-img> <span>View All News</span> </a> </div> </template> </amp-list> </section>   <section id="megamenu__topics" class="megamenu" data-menu="nav-topics" on="tap: megamenu__topics.show, megamenu__mask.show" role="link" tabindex="0"> <div class="row">  <div class="megamenu__list"> <a href="/category/app-security/">Application Security</a> <a href="/category/artificial-intelligence/">Artificial Intelligence</a> <a href="/category/ciso-corner/">CISO</a> <a href="/category/cloud-protection/">Cloud Security</a> <a href="/category/data-protection/">Data Protection</a> <a href="/category/endpoint/">Endpoint</a> </div> <div class="megamenu__list"> <a href="/category/fraud-protection/">Fraud Protection</a> <a href="/category/identity-access/">Identity & Access</a> <a href="/category/incident-response/">Incident Response</a> <a href="/category/mainframe/">Mainframe</a> <a href="/category/network/">Network</a> <a href="/category/risk-management/">Risk Management</a> </div> <div class="megamenu__list"> <a href="/category/security-intelligence-analytics/">Intelligence & Analytics</a> <a href="/category/security-services/">Security Services</a> <a href="/category/threat-hunting/">Threat Hunting</a> <a href="/category/topics/zero-trust/">Zero Trust</a> <a href="/infographic-zero-trust-policy/">Infographic: Zero trust policy</a> <a href="/timeline/state-local-government-cyberattacks/">Timeline: Local Government Cyberattacks</a> </div> <div class="megamenu__list"> <span>Industries</span> <a href="/category/banking-financial-services-industry/">Banking & Finance</a> <a href="/category/energy-utility-industry/">Energy & Utility</a> <a href="/category/government/">Government</a> <a href="/category/health-care-industry/">Healthcare</a> </div>  <a href="/category/topics/" class="megamenu__more"> <amp-img width="24" height="24" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/post-type-icons/topics.svg" alt="Topics"></amp-img> <span>View All Topics</span> </a> </div> </section>  <section id="megamenu__threat" class="megamenu" data-menu="nav-x-force" on="tap:megamenu__threat.show, megamenu__mask.show" role="link" tabindex="0"> <amp-list layout="responsive" width="1440" height="248" credentials="include" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/app/jsons/posts.php?quantity=4&category=x-force" binding="no"> <template type="amp-mustache"> <div class="row">  {{#articles}} <article class="megamenu__article"> <a href="{{permalink}}" class="megamenu__link"> <div class="megamenu__image"> <amp-img width="630" height="330" layout="responsive" src="{{image}}" alt="{{image_alt}}"></amp-img> </div> <h3 class="megamenu__title">{{title}}</h3> </a> </article> {{/articles}}  <a href="/x-force/" class="megamenu__more"> <amp-img width="24" height="24" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/post-type-icons/threat-research.svg" alt="Threat Research"></amp-img> <span>View More From X-Force</span> </a> </div> </template> </amp-list> </section>  <section id="megamenu__podcast" class="megamenu" data-menu="nav-media" on="tap:megamenu__podcast.show, megamenu__mask.show" role="link" tabindex="0"> <amp-list layout="responsive" width="1440" height="248" credentials="include" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/app/jsons/posts.php?quantity=4&type=ibm_media" binding="no"> <template type="amp-mustache"> <div class="row">  {{#articles}} <article class="megamenu__article"> <a href="{{permalink}}" class="megamenu__link"> <div class="megamenu__image"> <amp-img width="630" height="330" layout="responsive" src="{{image}}" alt="{{image_alt}}"></amp-img> </div> <h3 class="megamenu__title">{{title}}</h3> </a> </article> {{/articles}}  <a href="/media/" class="megamenu__more"> <amp-img width="24" height="24" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/post-type-icons/podcast.svg" alt="Podcast"></amp-img> <span>View All Episodes</span> </a> </div> </template> </amp-list> </section> </div>  <div id="megamenu__mask" class="navigation__mask " hidden></div>  <script type="text/javascript"> function validateInput(inputElement) { // Regular expression to allow only letters (both uppercase and lowercase) and numbers var regex = /^[A-Za-z0-9 ]*$/; // Get the current value of the input field var inputValue = inputElement.value; // Check if the input value matches the allowed pattern if (!regex.test(inputValue)) { // If the input contains special characters, remove them inputElement.value = inputValue.replace(/[^A-Za-z0-9 ]/g, ''); } } // DESKTOP MENU LINKS - HOVER ACTION var elementList = document.querySelectorAll('.navigation__menu .navigation__button'); for (i = 0; i < elementList.length; i++) { elementList[i].addEventListener('mouseenter', function() { if (localStorage['megamenu-status'] !== 'first-interaction') { var mega = document.getElementById("navigation__mega"); var menu_elements = document.getElementById(this.dataset.menu); var mask = document.getElementById("megamenu__mask"); menu_elements.click(); mega.classList.add('amp-open'); menu_elements.classList.add('amp-open'); mask.classList.add('amp-open'); } }); elementList[i].addEventListener('mouseleave', function() { if (localStorage['megamenu-status'] !== 'first-interaction') { var mega = document.getElementById("navigation__mega"); var menu_elements = document.getElementById(this.dataset.menu); var mask = document.getElementById("megamenu__mask"); mega.classList.remove('amp-open'); menu_elements.classList.remove('amp-open'); mask.classList.remove('amp-open'); } }); } // TABLET MENU LINKS - CLICK ACTION var elementList = document.querySelectorAll('.navigation__menu--tablet .navigation__button'); for (i = 0; i < elementList.length; i++) { elementList[i].addEventListener('click', function() { var mega = document.getElementById("navigation__mega"); var menu_elements = document.getElementById(this.dataset.menu); var mask = document.getElementById("megamenu__mask"); menu_elements.click(); mega.classList.add('amp-open'); menu_elements.classList.add('amp-open'); mask.classList.add('amp-open'); }); } // OPPENED MEGAMENU - HOVER ACTION var elementList = document.querySelectorAll('.megamenu'); for (i = 0; i < elementList.length; i++) { elementList[i].addEventListener('mouseenter', function() { var mega = document.getElementById("navigation__mega"); var nav_elements = document.getElementById(this.dataset.menu); var mask = document.getElementById("megamenu__mask"); this.classList.add('amp-open'); mega.classList.add('amp-open'); mask.classList.add('amp-open'); nav_elements.classList.add('amp-open'); }); elementList[i].addEventListener('mouseleave', function() { var mega = document.getElementById("navigation__mega"); var nav_elements = document.getElementById(this.dataset.menu); var mask = document.getElementById("megamenu__mask"); this.classList.remove('amp-open'); mega.classList.remove('amp-open'); mask.classList.remove('amp-open'); nav_elements.classList.remove('amp-open'); }); } </script>  <button type="button" aria-labelledby="search-tablet" class="search__mobile__icon" onclick="document.getElementById('search__input').focus()" on="tap:search.toggleClass(class='megamenu__open')" role="link" tabindex="0"> <amp-img width="18" height="18" layout="fixed" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/search.svg" alt="Search"></amp-img> </button> <div class="navigation__mobile-icon" on="tap:navigation__mobile.toggleVisibility, navigation__hamburguer.toggleVisibility, navigation__close.toggleVisibility " role="link" tabindex="0"> <amp-img id="navigation__hamburguer" width="24" height="24" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/hamburguer.svg" alt="Menu"></amp-img> <amp-img id="navigation__close" width="24" height="24" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/close.svg" alt="Close" hidden></amp-img> </div>  <section id="navigation__mobile" class="navigation__mobile-list" hidden> <div class="container"> <a href="/news/">News</a>  <amp-accordion disable-session-states>  <section class="navigation__accordion"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="navigation__accordion-content"> <div class="row"> <a href="/category/topics/">All Categories</a> <a href="/category/app-security/">Application Security</a> <a href="/category/identity-access/">Identity & Access</a> <a href="/category/artificial-intelligence/">Artificial Intelligence</a> <a href="/category/incident-response/">Incident Response</a> <a href="/category/ciso-corner/">CISO</a> <a href="/category/mainframe/">Mainframe</a> <a href="/category/cloud-protection/">Cloud Security</a> <a href="/category/mobile-security-podcasts/">Mobile Security</a> <a href="/category/data-protection/">Data Protection</a> <a href="/category/network/">Network</a> <a href="/category/endpoint/">Endpoint</a> <a href="/category/risk-management/">Risk Management</a> <a href="/category/fraud-protection/">Fraud Protection</a> <a href="/category/threat-hunting/">Threat Hunting</a> <a href="/category/security-services/">Security Services</a> <a href="/category/security-intelligence-analytics/">Security Intelligence & Analytics</a> </div> <div class="row"> <span>Industries</span> <a href="/category/industries/banking-financial-services-industry/">Banking & Finance</a> <a href="/category/energy-utility-industry/">Energy & Utility</a> <a href="/category/government/">Government</a> <a href="/category/health-care-industry/">Healthcare</a> </div> </div> </section> </amp-accordion> <a href="/x-force/">X-Force</a> <a href="/media/">Podcast</a> </section> </div> </div> </nav>  <div class="scroll-to-top ">  <div id="top-viewer" class="scroll-to-top__viewer"></div>  <div class="sticky" style="height: 100%;"> <button id="scrollToTopButton" on="tap:top-viewer.scrollTo(duration=200, position=bottom)" class="tap_target "> <div class="scroll-to-top__button"> <amp-img width="12" height="16" layout="fixed" alt="Back-to-top" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/scroll-to-top.svg"></amp-img> </div> </button> </div>  <amp-animation id="showAnim" layout="nodisplay"> <script type="application/json"> { "duration": "200ms", "fill": "both", "iterations": "1", "direction": "alternate", "animations": [{ "selector": "#scrollToTopButton", "keyframes": [{ "opacity": "1", "visibility": "visible" }] }] } </script> </amp-animation> <amp-animation id="hideAnim" layout="nodisplay"> <script type="application/json"> { "duration": "200ms", "fill": "both", "iterations": "1", "direction": "alternate", "animations": [{ "selector": "#scrollToTopButton", "keyframes": [{ "opacity": "0", "visibility": "hidden" }] }] } </script> </amp-animation> </div>  <amp-position-observer target="top-viewer" intersection-ratios="0" on="enter:hideAnim.start; exit:showAnim.start" layout="nodisplay"></amp-position-observer>  <script id="post-schema" type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Backdoor deployment and ransomware: Top threats identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023", "mainEntityOfPage": "https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mitch Mayne" }, "datePublished": "2023-02-21T22:30:00-05:00", "dateModified": "2023-11-14T16:13:16-05:00", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Security Intelligence", "logo":{ "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/security-intelligence/assets/img/logo.png" } }, "image": [ "https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration-630x330.png" ], "articleBody": "Deployment of backdoors was the number one action on objective taken by threat actors last year, according to the 2023 IBM Security <a href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=SI-Blog-Inline-XFTII-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X-Force Threat Intelligence Index</a> — a comprehensive analysis of our research data collected throughout the year. Backdoor access is now among the hottest commodities on the dark web and can sell for thousands of dollars, compared to credit card data — which can go for as low as $10. On the dark web — a veritable eBay for cybercriminals — threat actors can hold onto ill-gotten backdoor access (unbeknownst to victims) until the price is right, and then sell it to the highest bidder. Backdoor access even <a href="https://newsroom.ibm.com/2023-02-22-IBM-Report-Ransomware-Persisted-Despite-Improved-Detection-in-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outpaced ransomware in 2022</a>, which was seen in 17% of the cases X-Force examined. But about 67% of those backdoors were failed ransomware attempts, where defenders disrupted the backdoor before ransomware was deployed. <h2>Top attack impact: Extortion</h2> An IBM Security X-Force <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/posts/analysis-of-ransomware/">study</a> revealed a substantial 94% reduction in the average duration of ransomware attacks from 2019 to 2021, from over two months to just under four days. While incidents involving ransomware declined from 21% in 2021 to 17% in 2022, it remains a clear and present danger that shows signs only of expanding, not slowing down. <img src="https://images-cdn.welcomesoftware.com/Zz01OWI3N2FhZWIyNTYxMWVkYWQ3OTBlYzliNGI1YzZhZQ==?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOlsiNTliNzdhYWViMjU2MTFlZGFkNzkwZWM5YjRiNWM2YWUiXSwiZXhwIjoxNjc3MDQwNDIwfQ.z33ZYvTRgkblAmHj0i9_BQp84BC8X7KYQOPdwHp0F70" alt="TII_blog_launch_images-v1.13.jpg" width="556" height="556" /> Extortion is getting personal, and ransomware is just the tip of the arrow. When you think of extortion you usually think of ransomware — but extortion campaigns go far beyond ransomware today and include a variety of methods to apply pressure, including business email compromise and DDoS threats. Cybercriminals are incorporating increasingly intense psychological pressure in their attacks, as well. Some of the latest extortion schemes turn customers and business partners into pawns. Attackers are contacting hospital patients and students to tell them their data has been accessed — magnifying pressure on the breached organization. In more than one in four incidents examined, threat actors aimed to extort victim organizations — making it the top impact observed across incidents remediated by X-Force. [button link="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=SI-Blog-CTA-Button-XFTII-2023" color="orange1" size="large"]Download the Report[/button] <h2>Phishing and vulnerability exploitation: The top initial access vectors in attacks</h2> <a href="https://www.ibm.com/topics/phishing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Phishing</a> isn’t a new initial access vector by any stretch, but it remains a favored tactic of threat actors for an obvious reason: it works. Phishing — whether through attachment, link or as a service — remains the lead infection vector in 2022, which comprised 41% of all incidents. Across incidents, spear phishing attachments were used in 62% of those attacks, spear phishing links in 33% and spear phishing via service in 5%. X-Force also witnessed threat actors use attachments alongside phishing as a service or links in some instances. <img src="https://images-cdn.welcomesoftware.com/Zz1hYjZmNTU2MGIyNTYxMWVkOTk0ZDBlYzliNGI1YzZhZQ==?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOlsiYWI2ZjU1NjBiMjU2MTFlZDk5NGQwZWM5YjRiNWM2YWUiXSwiZXhwIjoxNjc3MDQwNDIwfQ.5T7xECkI7PGl7IL3gK6FOwyi8gbCR9W6763ALAepB5o" alt="TII_blog_launch_images-v1.1.jpg" width="556" height="556" /> When it comes to vulnerabilities, cybercriminals already have access to thousands of them. And they don’t have to invest time and money to find new ones since many old ones are working just fine. In 2022, X-Force <a href="https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/threats/guid:afd6bd73301c291b2de5a9c458547218">uncovered an 800%</a> increase in infections resulting from exploits of the 2017 WannaCry vulnerability, reinforcing the need for organizations to refine their vulnerability management programs and prioritize critical patches. Vulnerability exploitation — captured in the X-Force Threat Intelligence Index as exploitation of public-facing applications to align with the MITRE ATT&CK framework — placed second among top infection vectors, seen in 26% of incident response cases. The number of incidents resulting from vulnerability exploitation in 2022 decreased 19% from 2021, after rising 34% from 2020, a swing that was probably driven by the widespread Log4J vulnerability at the end of 2021. <h2>Cyber-related developments of Russia’s first year of war in Ukraine</h2> The conflict in Ukraine initiated by Russia was anticipated to be a showcase of the integration of cyber operations in modern warfare — a prediction made by many in the cybersecurity field. Although, as of early 2023, the most severe predictions of cyberattacks have not yet materialized, Russia has employed a <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/posts/new-destructive-malware-cyber-attacks-ukraine/">vast number of wipers</a> in their offensive against Ukraine, emphasizing its ongoing development of destructive malware. Additionally, the war has reignited the hacktivist threat — spawning pro-Russian groups with global target lists — and has reshaped the cybercrime landscape in Eastern Europe. Importantly, defenders are adeptly employing the strides made in detection, response and information sharing that were developed over the last several years. Many of the early wiper attacks were quickly identified, analyzed and publicized, helping to protect others from becoming victims. These attacks include at least eight identified wipers and the discovery and disruption of a planned Russian <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-hackers-tried-sabotage-ukrainian-power-grid-officials-researchers-2022-04-12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cyberattack on Ukraine’s electric grid</a> in April 2022. <h2>Learn more in the X-Force Threat Intelligence Index</h2> There’s much more to learn about the threat landscape in the X-Force Threat Intelligence Index. <ul> <li>Analysis of the top attack types and top infection vectors, from ransomware and BEC to phishing and vulnerability exploitation</li> <li>This year’s top spoofed brands</li> <li>The complexity and magnitude of the vulnerability problem organizations are facing</li> <li>An examination of threats to operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS)</li> <li>Geographic and industry trends identifying who’s being targeted — and where</li> <li>And recommendations for risk mitigation based on the cumulative expertise of X-Force.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=SI-Blog-Inline-XFTII-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Download the full report</a> and sign up to <a href="https://ibm.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1594497&tp_key=df2dad7d05">attend a webcast</a> with the authors of this report. They’ll offer a detailed investigation of the findings and what they mean for organizations defending against threats. View the <a class="c-link" href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence-action-guide?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=SI-Blog-Inline-XFTII-Action-Guide-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence-action-guide" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Threat Intelligence Index Action Guide</a> for insights, recommendations and next steps." } </script>  <script id="post-schema" type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://securityintelligence.com/" }, ] } </script> <div id="progressbar"> <amp-animation id="progress-animation" layout="nodisplay"> <script type="application/json"> { "duration": "1s", "iterations": "1", "fill": "both", "direction": "alternate", "animations": [{ "selector": "#progressbar", "keyframes": [{ "transform": "translateX(0)" }] }] } </script> </amp-animation> </div> <amp-position-observer target="post__content" intersection-ratios="0" viewport-margins="25vh 75vh" on="scroll:progress-animation.seekTo(percent=event.percent)" layout="nodisplay"></amp-position-observer> <div class="dark_background" style="background:black;"></div> <div class="container grid" style="background:black;">  <aside class="breadcrumbs "> <h1 class="breadcrumbs__page_title">Backdoor deployment and ransomware: Top threats identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023</h1> </aside> </div> <div class="container grid hero_background "> <div class="grid__content post "> <div class="post__thumbnail"> <amp-img alt="Illustration depicting connected circles, representative of data from the 2023 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index." width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration-630x330.png.webp" srcset="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration-300x158.png.webp 300w, /wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration-630x330.png.webp 630w, /wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration.png.webp 1200w, /wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration.png.webp 2400w"> <amp-img fallback alt="Illustration depicting connected circles, representative of data from the 2023 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index." width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration-630x330.png" srcset="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration-300x158.png 300w, https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration-630x330.png 630w, https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration.png 1200w, https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/X-Force-Threat-Intelligence-Index-2023-illustration.png 2400w"> </amp-img> </amp-img> </div> <div class="new_categoy"> <div class="category-container"> <div class="category"> <div class="theme"> <div class="form-check form-switch"> <div class="link-container"> <a href="#" class="theme-link" id="light-theme-link">Light</a> <a href="#" class="theme-link" id="dark-theme-link">Dark</a> </div> </div> </div> <hr class="separator"> <div class="author_date"> <div class="information"> <span class="date">February 21, 2023</span> <span class="author_category">By <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/author/mitch-mayne/" >Mitch Mayne</a> <span class="author_comma"></span><br>   <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/author/mike-worley/">Mike Worley</a> <br> </span> <span class="author_category"><span class="span-reading-time rt-reading-time"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix"></span> <span class="rt-time"> 4</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">min read</span></span></span> </div> </div> <hr class="separator"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/x-force/threat-intelligence/"><span class="name_category">Threat Intelligence<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/app-security/"><span class="name_other_category">Application Security<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/ciso-corner/"><span class="name_other_category">CISO<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/cloud-protection/"><span class="name_other_category">Cloud Security<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/data-protection/"><span class="name_other_category">Data Protection<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/endpoint/"><span class="name_other_category">Endpoint<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/identity-access/"><span class="name_other_category">Identity & Access<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/incident-response/"><span class="name_other_category">Incident Response<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/security-intelligence-analytics/"><span class="name_other_category">Intelligence & Analytics<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/network/"><span class="name_other_category">Network<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/security-services/"><span class="name_other_category">Security Services<br> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/x-force/"><span class="name_other_category">X-Force<br> </span></a> </div> <div class="social-container" style="visibility: hidden;"> <hr class="separator"> <div class="social">  <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Backdoor deployment and ransomware: Top threats identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023&url=https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><amp-img class="arrow" layout="fixed" height="26" width="26" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/social-icons/twitter.svg" alt="twitter"></amp-img></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><amp-img class="arrow" layout="fixed" height="26" width="26" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/social-icons/linkedin.svg" alt="Linkedin" ></amp-img></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><amp-img class="arrow" layout="fixed" height="26" width="26" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/social-icons/facebook.svg" alt="facebook"></amp-img></a> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/2023-x-force-threat-intelligence-index-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><amp-img class="arrow" layout="fixed" height="26" width="26" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/social-icons/link.svg" alt="An arrow pointing up"></amp-img></a> </div> </div> </div> <script> window.addEventListener('scroll', function() { var category = document.querySelector('.category'); var scrollPosition = window.scrollY; if (scrollPosition >= 0) { category.classList.add('sticky'); } else { category.classList.remove('sticky'); } }); // Function to set the light theme function setLightTheme(event, toSaveLocalStorage = true) { event.preventDefault(); const body = document.body; body.classList.remove('dark-theme'); // Save the user's theme preference in localStorage if (toSaveLocalStorage && !location.href.includes("/x-force/")) { setSiTheme('light'); } } // Function to set the dark theme function setDarkTheme(event, toSaveLocalStorage = true) { event.preventDefault(); const body = document.body; body.classList.add('dark-theme'); // Save the user's theme preference in localStorage if (toSaveLocalStorage && !location.href.includes("/x-force/")) { setSiTheme('dark'); } } // Add click event listeners to the theme links document.getElementById('light-theme-link').addEventListener('click', (event) => setLightTheme(event)); document.getElementById('dark-theme-link').addEventListener('click', (event) => setDarkTheme(event)); // Check localStorage to set the initial theme preference const themePreference = localStorage.getItem('si-theme-mode'); // Function to simulate a click event function simulateClick(handler, toSaveLocalStorage) { const event = new Event('click'); handler(event, toSaveLocalStorage); } // Apply the correct theme based on URL and preference if (location.href.includes("/x-force/")) { simulateClick(setDarkTheme, false); // Apply the dark theme for all x-force posts } else if (themePreference === 'dark') { simulateClick(setDarkTheme, true); // Apply the dark theme based on user preference } else if (themePreference === 'light') { simulateClick(setLightTheme, true); // Apply the light theme based on user preference (default) } else { simulateClick(setLightTheme, true); // Apply the light theme by default } </script> <script> const cookies = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("truste.eu.cookie.notice_preferences")); if (cookies && cookies.value === '2:') { document.querySelector('.social-container').style.visibility = 'visible'; } </script> </div> <main class="post__content post__content--continue_reading" id="post__content"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p>Deployment of backdoors was the number one action on objective taken by threat actors last year, according to the 2023 IBM Security <a href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=SI-Blog-Inline-XFTII-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" >X-Force Threat Intelligence Index</a> — a comprehensive analysis of our research data collected throughout the year. Backdoor access is now among the hottest commodities on the dark web and can sell for thousands of dollars, compared to credit card data — which can go for as low as $10.</p> <p>On the dark web — a veritable eBay for cybercriminals — threat actors can hold onto ill-gotten backdoor access (unbeknownst to victims) until the price is right, and then sell it to the highest bidder.</p> <p>Backdoor access even <a href="https://newsroom.ibm.com/2023-02-22-IBM-Report-Ransomware-Persisted-Despite-Improved-Detection-in-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" >outpaced ransomware in 2022</a>, which was seen in 17% of the cases X-Force examined. But about 67% of those backdoors were failed ransomware attempts, where defenders disrupted the backdoor before ransomware was deployed.</p> <h2>Top attack impact: Extortion</h2> <p>An IBM Security X-Force <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/posts/analysis-of-ransomware/" >study</a> revealed a substantial 94% reduction in the average duration of ransomware attacks from 2019 to 2021, from over two months to just under four days.</p> <p>While incidents involving ransomware declined from 21% in 2021 to 17% in 2022, it remains a clear and present danger that shows signs only of expanding, not slowing down.</p> <p><amp-img src="https://images-cdn.welcomesoftware.com/Zz01OWI3N2FhZWIyNTYxMWVkYWQ3OTBlYzliNGI1YzZhZQ==?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOlsiNTliNzdhYWViMjU2MTFlZGFkNzkwZWM5YjRiNWM2YWUiXSwiZXhwIjoxNjc3MDQwNDIwfQ.z33ZYvTRgkblAmHj0i9_BQp84BC8X7KYQOPdwHp0F70" layout="intrinsic" class="" alt="TII_blog_launch_images-v1.13.jpg" width="556" height="556" lightbox="lightbox"></amp-img></p> <p>Extortion is getting personal, and ransomware is just the tip of the arrow. When you think of extortion you usually think of ransomware — but extortion campaigns go far beyond ransomware today and include a variety of methods to apply pressure, including business email compromise and DDoS threats.</p> <p>Cybercriminals are incorporating increasingly intense psychological pressure in their attacks, as well. Some of the latest extortion schemes turn customers and business partners into pawns. Attackers are contacting hospital patients and students to tell them their data has been accessed — magnifying pressure on the breached organization.</p> <p>In more than one in four incidents examined, threat actors aimed to extort victim organizations — making it the top impact observed across incidents remediated by X-Force.</p> <a class="btn orange1 large" href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=SI-Blog-CTA-Button-XFTII-2023" >Download the Report</a> <h2>Phishing and vulnerability exploitation: The top initial access vectors in attacks</h2> <p><a href="https://www.ibm.com/topics/phishing" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" >Phishing</a> isn’t a new initial access vector by any stretch, but it remains a favored tactic of threat actors for an obvious reason: it works.</p> <p>Phishing — whether through attachment, link or as a service — remains the lead infection vector in 2022, which comprised 41% of all incidents. Across incidents, spear phishing attachments were used in 62% of those attacks, spear phishing links in 33% and spear phishing via service in 5%. X-Force also witnessed threat actors use attachments alongside phishing as a service or links in some instances.</p> <p><amp-img src="https://images-cdn.welcomesoftware.com/Zz1hYjZmNTU2MGIyNTYxMWVkOTk0ZDBlYzliNGI1YzZhZQ==?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOlsiYWI2ZjU1NjBiMjU2MTFlZDk5NGQwZWM5YjRiNWM2YWUiXSwiZXhwIjoxNjc3MDQwNDIwfQ.5T7xECkI7PGl7IL3gK6FOwyi8gbCR9W6763ALAepB5o" layout="intrinsic" class="" alt="TII_blog_launch_images-v1.1.jpg" width="556" height="556" lightbox="lightbox"></amp-img></p> <p>When it comes to vulnerabilities, cybercriminals already have access to thousands of them. And they don’t have to invest time and money to find new ones since many old ones are working just fine. In 2022, X-Force <a href="https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/threats/guid:afd6bd73301c291b2de5a9c458547218" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" >uncovered an 800%</a> increase in infections resulting from exploits of the 2017 WannaCry vulnerability, reinforcing the need for organizations to refine their vulnerability management programs and prioritize critical patches.</p> <p>Vulnerability exploitation — captured in the X-Force Threat Intelligence Index as exploitation of public-facing applications to align with the MITRE ATT&CK framework — placed second among top infection vectors, seen in 26% of incident response cases. The number of incidents resulting from vulnerability exploitation in 2022 decreased 19% from 2021, after rising 34% from 2020, a swing that was probably driven by the widespread Log4J vulnerability at the end of 2021.</p> <h2>Cyber-related developments of Russia’s first year of war in Ukraine</h2> <p>The conflict in Ukraine initiated by Russia was anticipated to be a showcase of the integration of cyber operations in modern warfare — a prediction made by many in the cybersecurity field. Although, as of early 2023, the most severe predictions of cyberattacks have not yet materialized, Russia has employed a <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/posts/new-destructive-malware-cyber-attacks-ukraine/" >vast number of wipers</a> in their offensive against Ukraine, emphasizing its ongoing development of destructive malware. Additionally, the war has reignited the hacktivist threat — spawning pro-Russian groups with global target lists — and has reshaped the cybercrime landscape in Eastern Europe.</p> <p>Importantly, defenders are adeptly employing the strides made in detection, response and information sharing that were developed over the last several years. Many of the early wiper attacks were quickly identified, analyzed and publicized, helping to protect others from becoming victims. These attacks include at least eight identified wipers and the discovery and disruption of a planned Russian <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-hackers-tried-sabotage-ukrainian-power-grid-officials-researchers-2022-04-12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" >cyberattack on Ukraine’s electric grid</a> in April 2022.</p> <h2>Learn more in the X-Force Threat Intelligence Index</h2> <p>There’s much more to learn about the threat landscape in the X-Force Threat Intelligence Index.</p> <ul> <li>Analysis of the top attack types and top infection vectors, from ransomware and BEC to phishing and vulnerability exploitation</li> <li>This year’s top spoofed brands</li> <li>The complexity and magnitude of the vulnerability problem organizations are facing</li> <li>An examination of threats to operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS)</li> <li>Geographic and industry trends identifying who’s being targeted — and where</li> <li>And recommendations for risk mitigation based on the cumulative expertise of X-Force.</li> </ul> <p><a href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=SI-Blog-Inline-XFTII-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" >Download the full report</a> and sign up to <a href="https://ibm.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1594497&tp_key=df2dad7d05" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" >attend a webcast</a> with the authors of this report. They’ll offer a detailed investigation of the findings and what they mean for organizations defending against threats. View the <a class="c-link" href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence-action-guide?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=SI-Blog-Inline-XFTII-Action-Guide-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" >Threat Intelligence Index Action Guide</a> for insights, recommendations and next steps.</p> </body></html> <div id="nc_pixel"></div><div class="post__tags"> <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/extortion/" rel="tag">Extortion</a><span> | </span><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/ibm-x-force-research/" rel="tag">IBM X-Force Research</a><span> | </span><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/phishing/" rel="tag">Phishing</a><span> | </span><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/ransomware/" rel="tag">Ransomware</a><span> | </span><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/ransomware-attacks/" rel="tag">ransomware attacks</a><span> | </span><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/spear-phishing/" rel="tag">Spear Phishing</a><span> | </span><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/threat-analysis/" rel="tag">threat analysis</a><span> | </span><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/threat-intelligence-2/" rel="tag">Threat Intelligence</a><span> | </span><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/tag/x-force/" rel="tag">X-Force</a></div> <div class="post__author author "> <div class="author__box"> <div class="author__photo" style="background-image: url(https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mitch-Mayne-photo.jpg);"></div> <div class="author__infos"> <div class="author__name"><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/author/mitch-mayne/" >Mitch Mayne</a></div> <div class="author__role">Editor in Chief, IBM Security X-Force Thought Leadership</div> </div> </div> <div class="author__box"> <div class="author__photo" style="background-image: url(https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/profile-pic.jpg);"></div> <div class="author__infos"> <div class="author__name"><a href="https://securityintelligence.com/author/mike-worley/">Mike Worley</a></div> <div class="author__role">Strategic Cyber Threat Analyst, IBM Security X-Force</div> </div> </div> </div>  <style type="text/css"> .post__content--continue_reading{ max-height: 725px; overflow:hidden; transition: max-height cubic-bezier(0.9, 0, 1, 1) 2s; } @media (max-width: 768px) { .post__content--continue_reading{ max-height: 1225px; } } </style> <div class="continue_reading_wrapper" id="continue_reading"> <button on="tap: post__content.toggleClass(class=post__content--continue_reading), continue_reading.toggleClass(class=continue_reading_wrapper--clicked)" tabindex="0" role="button">Continue Reading</button> </div> </main> </div> </div> <aside class="grid__sidebar post__sidebar "> <div class="mobile_divider"></div> <header class="post__sidebar__header">POPULAR</header>  <article class="article article_grid article__mobile--card">  <a class="exclusive_article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/articles/what-telegrams-recent-policy-shift-means-for-cyber-crime/" aria-label="What Telegram’s recent policy shift means for cyber crime"> <div class="article__img"> <amp-img alt="" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/A-dark-mystery-hand-typing-on-a-laptop-computer-at-night-630x330.jpeg.webp"> <amp-img fallback alt="" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/A-dark-mystery-hand-typing-on-a-laptop-computer-at-night-630x330.jpeg"> </amp-img> </amp-img> </div> </a>  <div class="article__text_container" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;">  <a class="article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/risk-management/" aria-label="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/risk-management/"> Risk Management </a>  <span class="article__date"> November 6, 2024 </span>  <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/articles/what-telegrams-recent-policy-shift-means-for-cyber-crime/" class="article__content_link" aria-label="What Telegram’s recent policy shift means for cyber crime"> <h2 class="article__title">What Telegram’s recent policy shift means for cyber crime</h2> <p class="article__excerpt" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;"> <span class="article__read_time"><span class="span-reading-time rt-reading-time"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix"></span> <span class="rt-time"> 4</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">min read</span></span> - </span>Since its launch in August 2013, Telegram has become the go-to messaging app for privacy-focused users. To start using the app, users can sign up using either their real phone number or an anonymous number purchased from the Fragment blockchain… </p> </a> </div> </article> <article class="article article_grid article__mobile--card">  <a class="exclusive_article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/articles/communication-platforms-major-role-in-data-breach-risks/" aria-label="Communication platforms play a major role in data breach risks"> <div class="article__img"> <amp-img alt="Looking over the shoulder of a businessman sitting at a desk on a video conference call" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Virtual-Video-Conference-Call-Meeting-630x330.jpeg.webp"> <amp-img fallback alt="Looking over the shoulder of a businessman sitting at a desk on a video conference call" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Virtual-Video-Conference-Call-Meeting-630x330.jpeg"> </amp-img> </amp-img> </div> </a>  <div class="article__text_container" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;">  <a class="article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/data-protection/" aria-label="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/data-protection/"> Data Protection </a>  <span class="article__date"> November 19, 2024 </span>  <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/articles/communication-platforms-major-role-in-data-breach-risks/" class="article__content_link" aria-label="Communication platforms play a major role in data breach risks"> <h2 class="article__title">Communication platforms play a major role in data breach risks</h2> <p class="article__excerpt" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;"> <span class="article__read_time"><span class="span-reading-time rt-reading-time"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix"></span> <span class="rt-time"> 4</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">min read</span></span> - </span>Every online activity or task brings at least some level of cybersecurity risk, but some have more risk than others. Kiteworks Sensitive Content Communications Report found that this is especially true when it comes to using communication tools. When it… </p> </a> </div> </article> <article class="article article_grid article__mobile--card">  <a class="exclusive_article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/posts/autonomous-security-for-cloud-in-aws/" aria-label="Autonomous security for cloud in AWS: Harnessing the power of AI for a secure future"> <div class="article__img"> <amp-img alt="Side view of a male sitting at a desk working on a computer in an office" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Side-view-of-focused-male-developer-coding-on-computer-while-sitting-at-working-at-office-630x330.jpeg.webp"> <amp-img fallback alt="Side view of a male sitting at a desk working on a computer in an office" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Side-view-of-focused-male-developer-coding-on-computer-while-sitting-at-working-at-office-630x330.jpeg"> </amp-img> </amp-img> </div> </a>  <div class="article__text_container" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;">  <a class="article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/cloud-protection/" aria-label="https://securityintelligence.com/category/topics/cloud-protection/"> Cloud Security </a>  <span class="article__date"> November 14, 2024 </span>  <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/posts/autonomous-security-for-cloud-in-aws/" class="article__content_link" aria-label="Autonomous security for cloud in AWS: Harnessing the power of AI for a secure future"> <h2 class="article__title">Autonomous security for cloud in AWS: Harnessing the power of AI for a secure future</h2> <p class="article__excerpt" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;"> <span class="article__read_time"><span class="span-reading-time rt-reading-time"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix"></span> <span class="rt-time"> 3</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">min read</span></span> - </span>As the digital world evolves, businesses increasingly rely on cloud solutions to store data, run operations and manage applications. However, with this growth comes the challenge of ensuring that cloud environments remain secure and compliant with ever-changing regulations. This is… </p> </a> </div> </article>  <div class="billboard_wrapper"> <a href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach?utm_medium=OSocial&utm_source=Blog&utm_content=RSRWW&utm_id=si-blog-right-rail " aria-label="A SPONSORED flag "> <amp-img layout='responsive' widht='300' height='250' src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SIB_CODB_rightrail_banners2024-think_600x1200.png" alt="CODB right rail banner with red, blue, & purple lines in a wide circular pattern"> </amp-img> </a> </div> </aside> </div> <script> const kaltura = document.querySelectorAll("[data-widget=\"videoplayer\"]") if (kaltura != null) { kaltura.forEach(function(item){ const kId = item.id + '--' + item.dataset.videoid; document.getElementById(item.id).id = kId; getKalturaVideo(item); }) } </script> <div class="card_container_background "> <section class="container cards"> <h3>More from Threat Intelligence</h3> <div class="cards__wrapper"> <article class="article article--card cards__article_grid ">  <a class="exclusive_article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/strela-stealer-todays-invoice-tomorrows-phish/"> <div class="article__img"> <amp-img alt="closeup on a digital screen with a red envelope & the word phishing in yellow & 2 yellow warning symbols" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Phishing.-financial-concept.-Digital-payments-630x330.jpeg.webp"> <amp-img fallback alt="closeup on a digital screen with a red envelope & the word phishing in yellow & 2 yellow warning symbols" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Phishing.-financial-concept.-Digital-payments-630x330.jpeg"> </amp-img> </amp-img> </div> </a>  <div class="article__text_container" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;">  <div class="article__eyebrow"> <span class="article__date"> November 12, 2024 </span> </div>  <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/strela-stealer-todays-invoice-tomorrows-phish/" class="article__content_link"> <div class="article__direction"> <h2 class="article__title"> Strela Stealer: Today’s invoice is tomorrow’s phish </h2> <p class="article__excerpt" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;"> <span class="article__read_time"><span class="span-reading-time rt-reading-time"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix"></span> <span class="rt-time"> 12</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">min read</span></span> - </span>As of November 2024, IBM X-Force has tracked ongoing Hive0145 campaigns delivering Strela Stealer malware to victims throughout Europe - primarily Spain, Germany and Ukraine. The phishing emails used in these campaigns are real invoice notifications, which have been stolen through previously exfiltrated email credentials. Strela Stealer is designed to extract user credentials stored in Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird. During the past 18 months, the group tested various techniques to enhance its operation's effectiveness. Hive0145 is likely to be… </p> </div> </a> </div> </article> <article class="article article--card cards__article_grid ">  <a class="exclusive_article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/hive0147-serving-juicy-picanha-with-side-of-mekotio/"> <div class="article__img"> <amp-img alt="Closeup on a laptop screen displaying green code in a dimly red-lit room" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Closeup-on-modern-female-with-laptop-writing-code-630x330.jpeg.webp"> <amp-img fallback alt="Closeup on a laptop screen displaying green code in a dimly red-lit room" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Closeup-on-modern-female-with-laptop-writing-code-630x330.jpeg"> </amp-img> </amp-img> </div> </a>  <div class="article__text_container" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;">  <div class="article__eyebrow"> <span class="article__date"> October 16, 2024 </span> </div>  <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/hive0147-serving-juicy-picanha-with-side-of-mekotio/" class="article__content_link"> <div class="article__direction"> <h2 class="article__title"> Hive0147 serving juicy Picanha with a side of Mekotio </h2> <p class="article__excerpt" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;"> <span class="article__read_time"><span class="span-reading-time rt-reading-time"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix"></span> <span class="rt-time"> 17</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">min read</span></span> - </span>IBM X-Force tracks multiple threat actors operating within the flourishing Latin American (LATAM) threat landscape. X-Force has observed Hive0147 to be one of the most active threat groups operating in the region, targeting employee inboxes at scale, with a primary focus on phishing and malware distribution. After a 3-month break, Hive0147 returned in July with even larger campaign volumes, and the debut of a new malicious downloader X-Force named "Picanha,” likely under continued development, deploying the Mekotio banking trojan. Hive0147… </p> </div> </a> </div> </article> <article class="article article--card cards__article_grid ">  <a class="exclusive_article__category_link" href="https://securityintelligence.com/news/fysa-critical-rce-flaw-in-gnu-linux-systems/"> <div class="article__img"> <amp-img alt="Closeup on a red computer screen displaying code covered by a large ALERT message" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="/wp-content/webp-express/webp-images/doc-root/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/computer-security-630x330.jpeg.webp"> <amp-img fallback alt="Closeup on a red computer screen displaying code covered by a large ALERT message" width="1200" height="630" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/computer-security-630x330.jpeg"> </amp-img> </amp-img> </div> </a>  <div class="article__text_container" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;">  <div class="article__eyebrow"> <span class="article__date"> September 26, 2024 </span> </div>  <a href="https://securityintelligence.com/news/fysa-critical-rce-flaw-in-gnu-linux-systems/" class="article__content_link"> <div class="article__direction"> <h2 class="article__title"> FYSA – Critical RCE Flaw in GNU-Linux Systems </h2> <p class="article__excerpt" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical;"> <span class="article__read_time"><span class="span-reading-time rt-reading-time"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix"></span> <span class="rt-time"> 2</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">min read</span></span> - </span>Summary The first of a series of blog posts has been published detailing a vulnerability in the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS), which purportedly allows attackers to gain remote access to UNIX-based systems. The vulnerability, which affects various UNIX-based operating systems, can be exploited by sending a specially crafted HTTP request to the CUPS service. Threat Topography Threat Type: Remote code execution vulnerability in CUPS service Industries Impacted: UNIX-based systems across various industries, including but not limited to, finance, healthcare,… </p> </div> </a> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div>  <script type="module" src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/carbon-for-ibm-dotcom/version/v1.31.0-rc.0/cta-section.min.js"></script> <script type="module" src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/carbon-for-ibm-dotcom/tag/v1/latest/cta-section.min.js"></script> <script type="module" src="https://1.www.s81c.com/common/carbon-for-ibm-dotcom/tag/v1/next/cta-section.min.js"></script> <div style="background-color: #161616;"> <dds-cta-section data-autoid="dds--cta-section" children-custom-class="" class="container SI_padding"> <dds-cta-block no-border="" data-autoid="dds--cta-block"> <dds-content-block-heading class="copy" role="heading" aria-level="2" data-autoid="dds--content-block__heading" slot="heading"> <h2 >Topic updates</h2> </dds-content-block-heading> <dds-content-block-copy data-autoid="dds--content-block__copy" size="md" slot="copy"> <dds-content-block-paragraph data-autoid="dds--content-block-paragraph" class="copy"> Get email updates and stay ahead of the latest threats to the security landscape, thought leadership and research. </dds-content-block-paragraph> <div role="list" class="list_newletter"> <dds-button-cta data-autoid="dds-cta" cta-style="button" class="copy" cta-type="local" href="https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=news-urx-51966" kind="primary" icon-layout="" size=""> Subscribe today </dds-button-cta> </div> </dds-content-block-copy> </dds-cta-block> </dds-cta-section> </div> <dds-footer-container></dds-footer-container> <script> document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => { const boxstyle = document.querySelector('.button2'); const removePadding = document.querySelector('dds-cta-section'); if (boxstyle) { const shadowRoot = boxstyle.shadowRoot; const bxContentSsectionDOM = shadowRoot.querySelector('.bx--btn'); if (bxContentSsectionDOM) { bxContentSsectionDOM.style.color = 'white'; bxContentSsectionDOM.style.borderColor = 'white'; bxContentSsectionDOM.addEventListener('mouseover', () => { bxContentSsectionDOM.style.color = 'white'; bxContentSsectionDOM.style.borderColor = 'white'; bxContentSsectionDOM.style.backgroundColor = 'rgba(141, 141, 141, 0.16)'; // }); // when mouse leave the element bxContentSsectionDOM.addEventListener('mouseout', () => { bxContentSsectionDOM.style.color = 'white'; bxContentSsectionDOM.style.borderColor = 'white'; bxContentSsectionDOM.style.backgroundColor = 'transparent'; // Reset background color }); } } if(removePadding){ const shadowRoot = removePadding.shadowRoot; const removespace = shadowRoot.querySelector('.bx--content-section__leading'); if(removespace){ removespace.style.display = 'none'; } } }); document.querySelector("dds-footer-container").size = 'default'; //Uncomment this to add a custom links. // document.querySelector("dds-footer-container").adjunctLinks = [{ // 'title': 'IBM Custom Link', // 'link': 'https://ibm.com' // }, // { // 'title': 'IBM Custom Link2', // 'link': 'https://ibm.com' // } // ]; </script>  <div style="background-color: #13171a;"> <div class="container">  <section id="footer" class="footer">  <div class="footer__logo"> <amp-img width="280" height="31" layout="responsive" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/themes/sapphire/images/logo-white.svg" alt="Security Intelligence"></amp-img> </div>  <div class="footer__copy"><p>Analysis and insights from hundreds of the brightest minds in the cybersecurity industry to help you prove compliance, grow business and stop threats.</p> </div>  <div class="footer__list"> <a href="/news/" class="footer__link">Cybersecurity News</a> <a href="/category/topics/" class="footer__link">By Topic</a> <a href="/category/industries/" class="footer__link">By Industry</a> <a href="/series/" class="footer__link">Exclusive Series</a> <a href="/x-force/" class="footer__link">X-Force</a> <a href="/media/" class="footer__link">Podcast</a> <a href="/events/" class="footer__link">Events</a> <a href="/about-us/" class="footer__link">Contact</a> <a href="/about-us/" class="footer__link">About Us</a> </div>  <div class="footer__social-networks"> <div class="headline">Follow us on social</div> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ibmsecurity" aria-label="Twitter" class="footer__icon" style="left:-4px;"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="28" height="28" viewBox="0 0 28 28" fill="#FFFFFF"> <path d="M24 4.557c-.883.392-1.832.656-2.828.775 1.017-.609 1.798-1.574 2.165-2.724-.951.564-2.005.974-3.127 1.195-.897-.957-2.178-1.555-3.594-1.555-3.179 0-5.515 2.966-4.797 6.045-4.091-.205-7.719-2.165-10.148-5.144-1.29 2.213-.669 5.108 1.523 6.574-.806-.026-1.566-.247-2.229-.616-.054 2.281 1.581 4.415 3.949 4.89-.693.188-1.452.232-2.224.084.626 1.956 2.444 3.379 4.6 3.419-2.07 1.623-4.678 2.348-7.29 2.04 2.179 1.397 4.768 2.212 7.548 2.212 9.142 0 14.307-7.721 13.995-14.646.962-.695 1.797-1.562 2.457-2.549z" /> </svg> </a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/ibm-security" aria-label="LinkedIn" class="footer__icon" style="justify-self: center;"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="28" height="28" viewBox="0 0 28 28" fill="#FFFFFF"> <path d="M4.98 3.5c0 1.381-1.11 2.5-2.48 2.5s-2.48-1.119-2.48-2.5c0-1.38 1.11-2.5 2.48-2.5s2.48 1.12 2.48 2.5zm.02 4.5h-5v16h5v-16zm7.982 0h-4.968v16h4.969v-8.399c0-4.67 6.029-5.052 6.029 0v8.399h4.988v-10.131c0-7.88-8.922-7.593-11.018-3.714v-2.155z" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@IBMTechnology" aria-label="YouTube" class="footer__icon" style="justify-self: end;"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="28" height="28" viewBox="0 0 28 28" fill="#FFFFFF"> <path d="M19.615 3.184c-3.604-.246-11.631-.245-15.23 0-3.897.266-4.356 2.62-4.385 8.816.029 6.185.484 8.549 4.385 8.816 3.6.245 11.626.246 15.23 0 3.897-.266 4.356-2.62 4.385-8.816-.029-6.185-.484-8.549-4.385-8.816zm-10.615 12.816v-8l8 3.993-8 4.007z" /> </svg> </a> </div> </section> </div> </div> <div style="background-color:black"> <div class="container">  <section class="utility_bar">  <div class="utility_bar__links" aria-label="Footer Navigation"> <a href="http://www.ibm.com?ce=ISM0484&ct=SWG&cmp=IBMSocial&cm=h&cr=Security&ccy=US" target="_blank" rel="noopener, noreferrer">© 2024 IBM</a> <a href="https://www.ibm.com/contact/?ce=ISM0484&ct=SWG&cmp=IBMSocial&cm=h&cr=Security&ccy=US" target="_blank" rel="noopener, noreferrer">Contact</a> <a href="https://www.ibm.com/privacy/?ce=ISM0484&ct=SWG&cmp=IBMSocial&cm=h&cr=Security&ccy=US" target="_blank" rel="noopener, noreferrer">Privacy</a> <a href="https://www.ibm.com/legal/?ce=ISM0484&ct=SWG&cmp=IBMSocial&cm=h&cr=Security&ccy=US&cm_mc_uid=03001744655915532865554&cm_mc_sid_50200000=84159441565120380187" target="_blank" rel="noopener, noreferrer">Terms of use</a> <a href="https://www.ibm.com/accessibility/?ce=ISM0484&ct=SWG&cmp=IBMSocial&cm=h&cr=Security&ccy=US" target="_blank" rel="noopener, noreferrer">Accessibility</a> <a href="#" onclick="truste.eu.clickListener();return false;" target="_blank" rel="noopener, noreferrer">Cookie Preferences</a> </div>  <div class="utility_bar__sponsor"> <a href="http://ibm.com/security?ce=ISM0484&ct=SWG&cmp=IBMSocial&cm=h&cr=Security&ccy=US" target="_blank" data-icon="B" class="icon ibm" rel="noopener, noreferrer" style="padding-right:0px"> <span>Sponsored by <svg id="Layer_1" data-name="Layer 1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 31.97 14.06"> <defs> <style> .cls-1 { fill: #fff; } </style> </defs> <title>si-icon-eightbarfeature</title> <path class="cls-1" d="M27.17,12.6h4.21v.84H27.17Zm0-1.68h4.21v.84H27.17Zm0-1.68h2.52v.84H27.17Zm0-1.69h2.52V8.4H27.17Zm0-1.68h2.52v.84H27.17Zm-.84-4.2.28-.85h4.77v.85Zm-.56,1.68.29-.84h5.32v.84ZM25.22,5l.28-.84h4.19V5Zm-.56,1.68L25,5.87h2.22l-.27.84Zm0,6.73-.28-.84H25Zm-.55-1.68-.29-.84H25.5l-.28.84Zm-.56-1.68-.27-.84H26l-.27.84ZM23,8.4l-.29-.85h3.9l-.28.85Zm-.57-1.69-.27-.84h2.22l.28.84Zm-2.8,2.53h2.53v.84H19.63Zm0-1.69h2.53V8.4H19.63Zm0-1.68h2.53v.84H19.63Zm0-.84V4.19h4.19l.29.84ZM18,12.6h4.21v.84H18Zm0-1.68h4.21v.84H18Zm0-7.57V2.51h5.32l.28.84Zm0-1.68V.82h4.76l.29.85ZM14.16,9.24H17a2.23,2.23,0,0,1,.07.37,2.49,2.49,0,0,1,0,.47H14.16Zm0-5h2.95a2.38,2.38,0,0,1,0,.46A2.18,2.18,0,0,1,17,5H14.16ZM9.11,9.24h2.52v.84H9.11Zm0-1.69H16a5,5,0,0,1,.4.4,2,2,0,0,1,.32.45H9.11Zm0-1.68h7.57a2,2,0,0,1-.32.45,4.89,4.89,0,0,1-.4.39H9.11Zm0-1.68h2.52V5H9.11ZM7.42,12.6H16a3.09,3.09,0,0,1-1,.62,3.73,3.73,0,0,1-1.32.22H7.42Zm0-1.68H17a2.47,2.47,0,0,1-.15.46,2.24,2.24,0,0,1-.21.38H7.42Zm0-8.41h9.22a1.91,1.91,0,0,1,.21.38,2.47,2.47,0,0,1,.15.46H7.42Zm0-1.69H13.6a3.73,3.73,0,0,1,1.32.23,3.09,3.09,0,0,1,1,.62H7.42Zm-5,8.42H4.9v.84H2.38Zm0-1.69H4.9V8.4H2.38Zm0-1.68H4.9v.84H2.38Zm0-1.68H4.9V5H2.38ZM.69,12.6H6.58v.84H.69Zm0-1.68H6.58v.84H.69Zm0-8.41H6.58v.84H.69ZM.69.82H6.58v.85H.69Z" /> </svg> </span> </a> </div> </section> </div> </div> <script> window._appInfo = window._appInfo || {}; window._appInfo.newsCredAPIKey = "YXJ0aWNsZT1lMDFiYWYwNmIyMzkxMWVkYWZkOTI2YzNjZjFiZDZjYg=="; </script>  <script type="text/javascript" id="qppr_frontend_scripts-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var qpprFrontData = {"linkData":{"https:\/\/securityintelligence.com\/defining-security-intelligence\/":[0,0,"https:\/\/securityintelligence.com\/defintion-security-intelligence\/#.VS_NwpNnuZA"],"https:\/\/securityintelligence.com\/security-vulnerability-management-its-about-outcomes-not-activity\/":[0,0,""]},"siteURL":"https:\/\/securityintelligence.com","siteURLq":"https:\/\/securityintelligence.com"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://securityintelligence.com/wp-content/plugins/quick-pagepost-redirect-plugin/js/qppr_frontend_script.min.js?ver=5.2.4" id="qppr_frontend_scripts-js"></script> <script> setTimeout(() => { document.querySelector(".related_content").style.visibility = 'visible'; document.querySelector(".related_content.article.article_grid.article__mobile--card.article--IBM_blog > c4d-card > c4d-card-footer").shadowRoot.querySelector("#link").style.justifyContent = 'flex-start'; }, 100); </script> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Backdoor Deployment and Ransomware: Top Threats Identified in X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023