Organizations detecting ransomware decline as volume and impact of targeted attacks continue to rise 

Fortinet announced the latest semiannual Global Threat Landscape Report from FortiGuard Labs. In the first half of 2023, FortiGuard Labs observed a decline in organizations detecting ransomware, significant activity among advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, a shift in MITRE ATT&CK techniques used by attackers, and much more. In addition to the highlights below, readers can find the full analysis by reading the 1H 2023 Global Threat Landscape Report.

Derek Manky, Chief Security Strategist & Global VP Threat Intelligence, FortiGuard Labs, said: “Disrupting cybercrime is a global effort that comprises strong, trusted relationships and collaboration across public and private sectors, as well as investing in AI-powered security services that can help overwhelmed security teams coordinate actionable threat intelligence in real time across their organization. Security teams cannot afford to sit idle with targeted threats at an all-time high. Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs continues to provide innovative and actionable intelligence, like the Red Zone and new Exploit Prediction Scoring System analysis, to help security teams proactively prioritize patching efforts and respond to threats faster than ever.” 

While organizations continue to find themselves in a reactive position due to the growing sophistication of malicious actors and the escalation of targeted attacks, ongoing analysis of the threat landscape in the 1H 2023 Global Threat Landscape Report helps provide valuable intelligence that can serve as an early warning system of potential threat activity and help security leaders prioritize their security strategy and patching efforts. Highlights of the report follow: 

• Organizations Detecting Ransomware Are on the Decline.
• Malicious Actors Are 327x More Likely to Attack Top EPSS Vulnerabilities within Seven Days Compared to All Other CVEs.
• The Red Zone Continues to Help CISOs Prioritize Patching Efforts.
• Nearly One-Third of APT Groups Were Active in 1H 2023.

Disrupting Cybercrime Requires an All-in Approach

FortiGuard Labs’ contributions to the threat intelligence community over the last decade have made significant impacts around the globe, helping to improve protections for customers, partners, and governments in their fight against cybercrime. Breaking down silos and increasing the quality of actionable threat intelligence  helps organizations reduce risk and enhances the overall effectiveness of the cybersecurity industry. Cyber defenders today currently possess access to the tools, knowledge, and support to begin altering the economics of malicious actors. Still, it’s an industrywide commitment to collaboration and intelligence sharing that will ultimately create a larger ecosystem of disruption and allow the industry to gain the upper hand against cyber adversaries.

As a leader in enterprise-class cybersecurity and networking innovation, Fortinet helps secure over half a million organizations worldwide, including global enterprises, service providers, and government organizations. Of note, Fortinet’s ongoing development of artificial intelligence (AI) applied to cybersecurity uses cases, in both our FortiGuard Labs and product portfolio, is speeding the prevention, detection, and response to known and unknown threats. 

Specifically, FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services are utilized by security controls deployed across endpoints and applications through both network and cloud infrastructure. Purpose-built detection and response technologies that leverage AI engines and cloud analytics (including EDR, NDR, and others) can also be deployed as integrated extensions of such controls. Fortinet also offers centralized response tools, such as XDR, SIEM, SOAR, DRPS, and more, that leverage different AI, automation, and orchestration to speed remediation. These can all significantly disrupt cybercrime across the entire attack surface and along the cyberattack kill chain.