LACNIC participates at eCrime 2017: A changing, threatening landscape

31/05/2017

As reported by several experts at the Annual eCrime 2017 Conference, phishing (fraudulent sites) is becoming increasingly specialized, often containing viruses that block access to the victim’s data or threaten to publish or delete it until a ransom is paid (ransomware).

These experts warned about the changing nature of cybercrime and the challenges when facing this threatening and dynamic landscape.

Graciela Martínez, Head of LACNIC WARP, actively participated at the eCrime 2017 meeting in Arizona (United States), where major computer security incidents were analyzed.

One of the key findings was that the reason why cybercriminals have focused on ransomware is because it is easy for them to receive payments in bitcoin, as this currency is very difficult to trace, Martínez said.

Likewise, according to the cases presented during the meeting, phishing is becoming increasingly sophisticated and end users are having a hard time identifying them.

Martínez was part of a panel during which she presented a report on cybercrime in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the latest data obtained by LACNIC WARP, phishing leads the list of reported incidents https://warp.lacnic.net/estadisticas/.

“This type of cybercrime will not stop,” noted the Head of LACNIC WARP.

The use of mobile devices has led to an increase in the number of phishing cases. “Most people connect from their smartphones. This has increased phishing both because the screen is smaller and because users do not use antivirus software. The result is that the details that allow users to identify a fraudulent website are lost,” Martínez explained.

Cybercriminals have also improved their methods and nowadays even create fraudulent websites that Internet users perceive as secure. According to the data shared during eCrime 2017, malicious domain registration reached record highs in 2016. Domain impersonation is one of the most widely used techniques.

And criminals are specializing at an increasingly younger age. A clear example is the case of the eighteen-year-old who was the head of one of the largest fraudulent Internet organizations. One of the speakers at the Annual Symposium on Electronic Crime summarized the situation as follows: “Everything has moved to the Internet, not only business and the economy but also criminals.”

eCrime 2017 looked at developing common resources and best practices for fighting electronic crime and defending users. The meeting also discussed citizen awareness programs to help ensure a secure computing environment.