Experts have discovered which areas saw the most reports of data breaches

“Russian retailers and e-commerce companies have become the focus of attention of hackers, entering the top 3 in terms of volume of stolen data reports and access to infrastructure in the parallel market,” said Positive Technologies in a statement, cited. by TASS.

Typically, cybercriminals seek to obtain personal data from customers. Thus, approximately half (46%) of the leaks contained users’ personal information.

Most of the time, when attacking retailers, attackers infect them with malware; This method represents 58% of leaks. Criminals also resort to exploiting vulnerabilities (42%) and various social engineering methods (39%).

According to Positive Technologies, fraudsters often attack CMS systems, allowing them to steal data and penetrate company infrastructure. According to experts, a significant part of the breaches is due to an increase in the volume of data from retailers.

What happens to the data after theft?

As the company’s specialists note, after theft, hackers often sell or exchange access to organizations’ networks on global shadow platforms. They also offer tools and services to carry out other attacks.

According to Anna Golushko, senior analyst at Positive Technologies, outdated databases encourage attackers to actively seek access to systems to obtain more complete information.

At the same time, the shadow market constantly attracts new participants, including inexperienced hackers who specialize in gaining initial access. After that, they trade it or sell it to more experienced hackers.