Every day new security threats appear that threaten our normal Internet browsing. Microsoft recently conducted a review of the state of its security department and who are the main Windows threat actors it monitors. Combined with these results reported by the tech giant, we can also see that it plans to change the way it fights viruses and ransomware.
Microsoft has more than 100 security threats on its radar
Microsoft revealed today that its security team is tracking more than 100 threat actors that deployed ransomware during attacks. In total, the company said it had monitored more than 50 unique ransomware families in use at the end of last year.
«Some of the most notable ransomware payloads in recent campaigns include Lockbit Black, BlackCat (also known as ALPHV), Play, Vice Society, Black Basta and Royal. However, defense strategies should focus less on the payload and more on the chain of action. that leads to deployment,» Microsoft said, as the ransomware family continues to target servers and devices that have not patched common or recently patched vulnerabilities. While new ransomware families are released all the time, most threat actors use the same tactics to implement security breaches and propagate networks, hindering efforts to detect such behavior. Useful to curb their attacks, so the search is more focused on the chain of actions that lead to their propagation.
According to the folks in Redmond, attackers are increasingly relying on tactics other than phishing to carry out their attacks, with threats like DEV-0671 and DEV-0882 using recently patched Exchange Server vulnerabilities to compromise vulnerable servers and deploy Kuber and replicate ransomware. Last week, the Exchange team encouraged administrators to deploy the latest supported cumulative update (CU) to protect on-premises Exchange servers and always be prepared to install emergency security updates to prevent attacks.
The best antivirus software for Windows
To avoid, or at least slow down, infection with one of these serious security threats, it’s best to have the right protection program in place. We recently told you about the latest AV-TEST results for Windows home antivirus software, and after more than 13,000 malware exposures, only 10 provided maximum protection.
- Avast Free Antivirus
- Avast One Essential
- AVG Internet Security
- Avira Security for Windows
- Bitdefender Internet Security
- G DATA Total Security
- Kaspersky Internet Security
- McAfee Total Protection
- NortonLifeLock Norton 360
- Trend Micro Internet Security