Secure Mobile Messaging: Security and Compliance for Modern Digital Channels
A whole gamut of digital risks threatens mobile messaging apps. Cybercriminals exploit mobile apps in several ways, from malware and ransomware to social engineering to identity theft and fraud.
Malware & Ransomware
A simple click on a link is all it can take for malware or ransomware to be delivered. And bad actors are becoming increasingly skilled at crafting innocent-looking URLs that draw people in. Malware can now be skillfully embedded within innocuous files and have various targets – money, credentials, and even cryptocurrencies.
Case in point: Our threat intelligence team detected a credential stealer piece of malware being posted in a cryptocurrency-trading Telegram channel that we monitor. The malware, dubbed ‘Echelon,’ performs various functions such as targeting credentials, crypto wallets, and device details.
This incident may seem isolated, but it points to the risk exposure faced by financial institutions as they embrace modern communication, including mobile messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, to conduct business.
Social Engineering & Phishing
Social engineering doesn’t happen at random. Bad actors carefully select their victims, locking in on targets they regard as high-value due to their title and organizational role. The profiling of social engineering targets pulls in a wide range of cloud apps and services, including the mobile messaging components of social media platforms.
For example, social engineering was at the heart of every Lapsus$ breach, including their attack on Uber, which forced the company to shut several of their internal communications.
The Lazarus APT group used social engineering tactics to steal $625M in crypto from Axie Infinity. At the time, that was more than half a billion dollars stolen. An employee fell victim to a simple but convincing fake job offer that the attackers sent through LinkedIn.
To give a final example, in June of 2022, LinkedIn’s Threat Prevention and Defense detected the Lazarus group creating fake profiles to target technical support professionals and engineers employed at media and IT companies in the US, UK, and India. These “profiles” claim to be recruiters encouraging them to “apply for an open position at one of several legitimate companies.”
Insider Risks & Data Loss
Here’s a quick summary of how insider risks and data loss have affected companies in the past few years:
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Insider threat incidents have increased 44% over the past two years, costing more than $15M per incident.
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Credential theft has become the most common insider threat, resulting in $4.6 million in losses.
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More than two out of three insider incidents happen because of negligence.
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Financial companies have the highest insider threat cost — $21.25M (up 47% from the previous year).
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The top three reasons for an insider attack are Fraud (55%), Monetary gains (49%), and IP theft (44%).
Compliance & Regulatory Risks
Companies in highly regulated industries such as life sciences and finance must work hard to stay compliant. Regulations include heavy controls over how businesses can communicate with individuals. For example, pharmacovigilance laws contain rules around discussing adverse events and off-label use. Financial regulations restrict discussions of certain financial products. To stay compliant, companies need to be able to monitor all such discussions and take swift action in real-time when necessary.
In 2022 alone, various pharma companies were fined over $8.2B with off-label promotion as their primary violation. Secure mobile messaging tools help enterprises in these sectors address these compliance and recordkeeping concerns.
Industrial Espionage & State-Sponsored Attacks
In early 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine unprovoked, causing an all-out war that has resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people. But the war did not just happen physically — Russia’s nation-state actors also launched cyberattacks against Ukraine’s government.
Microsoft detected that nation-state actors grew brazen, taking advantage of the chaos by sowing more chaos of their own.
“During the past year, cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure jumped from comprising 20% of all nation-state attacks Microsoft detected to 40%. This spike was due, in large part, to Russia’s goal of damaging Ukrainian infrastructure and aggressive espionage targeting of Ukraine’s allies, including the United States.”
Russia’s attempts to compromise information tech firms from NATO member countries have also accelerated. Research found 90% of Russian-based cyber attacks targeted NATO member states in the past year, with 48% targeting IT firms based in NATO countries.
Beyond that, Microsoft’s 2022 Digital Defense Report also reveals that 53% of these attacks targeted other sectors like education, as well as think tanks and NGOs.
With all these security and compliance risks, it’s unsurprising that the White House is proposing a $6.9 trillion increase in its cybersecurity budget for the fiscal year 2024. The breakdown includes:
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An additional $145 million for CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency), receiving a total of $3.1 billion.
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A $245 million budget for security in the energy sector.
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An additional $63 million for the Justice Department for “more agents, enhanced response capabilities, and strengthened
intelligence collection and analysis capabilities.”
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A $215 million budget for the Treasury Department to help implement stronger enterprise cybersecurity.
