RussiaChina and North Korea are increasingly aggressive and sophisticated in recruiting cybercriminals to steal money, obtain information and influence elections, he said Microsoft in a report published Tuesday.
Hackers are not only stealing information but are “releasing ransomwarepositioning backdoors for future destruction, sabotaging operations and conducting influence campaigns,” wrote the vice president of Consumer Security, Tom Burtin Microsoft’s Digital Defense report.
“The pace of nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks has escalated to the point that there is now effectively constant combat in cyberspace without significant consequences for the attacker,” he adds.
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Observations in the last year show a “convergence” of government and cybercriminals, according to the report, which points to activities in China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Countries used economically motivated cybercriminals as a “force multiplier,” taking advantage of their expertise to attack.
“We have also seen rapid changes in hybrid warfare tactics, with wide-ranging attempts to interfere in democratic elections and a rise in ransomware attacks and financial fraud around the world.”
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Microsoft also warns of the risks of using artificial intelligence and mentions Russia, Iran and China as nations committed to influencing elections, generating discord and eroding trust in public institutions.
“The widespread accessibility of generative AI tools coupled with important geopolitical events has created an environment conducive to interference operations by nation-states in high-risk conflicts,” the text details.
North Korea has “blurred the line” between cybercrimes and cyberespionagewith the UN estimating that the country has stolen more than 3 billion in cryptocurrencies since 2017, the report details.
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