It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that large business targets are the ones that need to worry about being attacked, be that by way of ransomware, infostealers or phishing. The truth, however, is that hackers will look to any vulnerable business, regardless of size, when it comes to making a potential profit. Your small business might even be seen as a stepping stone to a larger enterprise in a supply chain attack. The TL;DR being that no, you are not safe from attack and a newly published report has just highlighted why: hackers-for-hire are selling full access to small businesses for as little as $600 a time on the dark web. Here’s what you need to know.
Dark Web Hackers-For-Hire Target Small Business Victims
Threat intelligence analysts working for the Guardz Research Unit have uncovered what they refer to as a rising attack surface following the discovery of hackers-for-hire targeting small businesses on the dark web.
The Guardz Research Unit investigation found dark web listings that were offering to provide illegal access to small and medium-sized businesses, with a particular focus on accounting and law firms, through the use of unpatched vulnerability exploitation, ransomware attack and the sale of compromised credentials. “One particularly egregious listing offered admin-level access to a U.S. law firm’s network for the devastatingly low price of $600,” Tal Eisner, vice president of product marketing at Guardz, said.
Because the smaller the business, the greater the chance that they will lack the cybersecurity protections, including in-house security teams and realistic budgets, of larger enterprises, SMBs are, Tal Eisner said, “disproportionately vulnerable to the growing number of cyberattacks targeting them.” Yet, as we all know, financial data, legal documentation, any sensitive business data in fact, are all prime targets for cybercriminal attackers. The dark web is hometown hackers-for-hire, operating a cybercrime-as-a-service model to provide customized attacks at an alarmingly low cost. “As a result,” Tal Eisner said, “cybercriminals are treating small businesses like goldmines – because they can.”
The Small Business Attack Services Being Sold On The Dark Web
According to the Guardz report, the following attacks-as-a-service offerings are being sold on the dark web:
- Exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities: Over 15% of the hundreds of dark web listings analyzed by Guardz offered access to organizations through vulnerabilities that were disclosed years ago.
- Sale of stolen credentials: Dark web forums are rife with listings advertising access to small business networks through compromised Remote Desktop Protocol and Virtual Private Network credentials.
- Ransomware as a service: Guardz found that cyber attackers are increasingly employing double extortion methods, threatening to release sensitive data if ransoms are not paid.
“Cybercrime has become an industry of its own, and enterprises are no longer the sole or main targets; small businesses are its new favorite victims – whether they realize it or not,” Dor Eisner, CEO and co-founder of Guardz, said; “For just a few hundred dollars, hackers can gain and share access to company systems, hold data hostage, or disrupt operations, putting entire livelihoods and businesses at risk.”
Take the dark web threat seriously and close basic security gaps in your small business, embrace proactive threat detection if possible and increase awareness among employees. Doing so means that ”small businesses can protect their operations, preserve client trust, and safeguard their success in an increasingly hostile digital landscape,” Dor Esiner concluded.
