Data-stealing cyberattacks are surging - 7 ways to protect yourself and your business

BlackJack3D/Getty Images

2024 delivered immoderate bully quality and atrocious quality successful the country of cybercrime. Malware-based ransomware attacks dropped for the 3rd twelvemonth successful a row. But instances of infostealer malware grew dramatically. Those findings travel from IBM X-Force's "2025 Threat Intelligence Index" released Thursday.

First, let's look astatine the bully news. For the year, ransomware accounted for conscionable 28% of malware incidents, the 3rd yearly diminution successful a row. This means a alteration successful malware distributed successful beforehand of ransomware attacks. At the aforesaid time, determination was a driblet successful attacks from galore high-volume malware distributors, including Emotet, TrickBot, IcedID, Qakbot, Gozi and Pikabot.

Also: Why multi-factor authentication is perfectly indispensable successful 2025

Of course, ransomware continues to airs a important threat. Based connected an investigation of acheronian web enactment and different factors, IBM X-Force observed a 25% emergence successful existent attacks past year. Among the astir progressive ransomware families successful 2024 were Akira, LockBit, Black Basta, RansomHub, and Hunters International.

However, the ongoing diminution successful ransomware-associated malware is inactive a affirmative trend, 1 that X-Force attributed to respective antithetic factors.

First, respective of the high-volume malware distributors person little of a beingness oregon person ceased operations entirely. Second, the combined efforts of galore instrumentality enforcement agencies worldwide person led to the takedown of botnets that play a relation successful ransomware attacks. Third, much businesses person refused to wage the ransom, prompting much attackers to find different ways to marque a living.

Now, onto the atrocious news. Cybercriminals are much apt to bargain your delicate information than clasp it for ransom. That led to an 84% play emergence successful infostealers past twelvemonth implicit 2023 and an adjacent larger summation of 180% truthful acold successful aboriginal 2025. By tricking the recipient into clicking a nexus oregon opening a record attachment, phishing emails motorboat infostealer malware that captures delicate accusation -- astir notably, relationship credentials.

Also: Will utilizing a VPN assistance support you from malware oregon ransomware?

Almost 1 successful 3 infostealer attacks analyzed by X-Force successful 2024 resulted successful the theft of credentials. Stolen credentials are lucrative to cybercriminals arsenic they tin easy bargain and merchantability them connected acheronian web marketplaces. That benignant of vulnerability leaves individuals susceptible to individuality theft and puts employers astatine hazard for much devastating types of attacks and compromises.

In 2024, the apical 5 infostealers unsocial appeared successful much than 8 cardinal ads connected the acheronian web. Each of those ads contained hundreds of stolen credentials, totaling astir 1.6 billion.

Infostealers tin besides enactment arsenic spyware, hiding connected an infected PC oregon instrumentality to snoop connected your enactment and information. Once installed, they tin tally successful the inheritance to drawback screenshots, seizure your keystrokes, and retrieve your passwords. With infostealers a fashionable method of attack, galore transgression groups usage a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) model.

Also: That weird CAPTCHA could beryllium a malware trap - here's however to support yourself

As attackers person grown successful sophistication, the malware payloads are much cleverly disguised, making it hard for information tools to observe them. By utilizing precocious infostealers, a cybercriminal tin rapidly marque disconnected with relationship credentials and different delicate information without having to support a backdoor oregon an ongoing presence.

"Cybercriminals are astir often breaking successful without breaking thing -- capitalizing connected individuality gaps overflowing from analyzable hybrid unreality environments that connection attackers aggregate entree points," said Mark Hughes, planetary managing spouse of Cybersecurity Services astatine IBM. 

"Businesses request to displacement distant from an ad-hoc prevention mindset and absorption connected proactive measures specified arsenic modernizing authentication management, plugging multi-factor authentication holes, and conducting real-time menace hunting to uncover hidden threats earlier they exposure delicate data."

Also: How a researcher with nary malware-coding skills tricked AI into creating Chrome infostealers

To support your concern from infostealers and different types of malware, IBM X-Force offers the pursuing recommendations:

1. Monitor the acheronian web. Look for accusation astir your ain company, employees, networks, and information to spot what attackers cognize astir you.

2. Train your employees. Educate your employees astir phishing attacks, mediocre password habits, and different risks. Ensure that they cognize however to support themselves and your business.

3. Set up an incidental effect plan. Make definite each the indispensable radical successful your institution cognize however to respond successful the lawsuit of a cyberattack oregon compromise. Keep your incidental effect program updated to code the latest threats targeting your manufacture oregon business.

4. Protect your delicate data. Protect important data, whether on-premises, successful the cloud, oregon successful hybrid environments. To bash this, usage encryption and entree controls, and marque definite you show each information transfers.

5. Streamline your individuality absorption tools. Identity absorption tools tin power entree to captious information but effort to trim the fig of disparate and adjacent redundant products. Ideally, you privation to streamline them into an "identity fabric" approach.

Also: Why AI-powered information tools are your concealed limb against tomorrow's attacks

6. Turn to AI. Cybercriminals usage AI to trade palmy attacks, truthful usage the aforesaid exertion to support your business. With the close AI, you tin often observe and respond to threats much quickly.

7. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA). Set up MFA for each employees and partners who request to entree your systems and data. This volition connection different level of extortion if immoderate relationship credentials and passwords are compromised.

Stay up of information quality with Tech Today, delivered to your inbox each morning.