[Your summarized text here]

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Takeaways:

• The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published guidance on digital threats for civil society, emphasizing tailored advice to mitigate cyber threats with limited resources.

• Civil society organizations often lack the in-house expertise to implement recommended cybersecurity measures, requiring external support.

• Incident response for civil society should focus on resolving incidents rather than always seeking potential threats.

Links:

• CISA Report on Digital Threats

• CIA Triad

• Silent Push Blog Post on Telegram Phishing

• CyberHUB-AM Work

• Cyberscoop Report on Pegasus Abuse

• Access Now2023 Report on Internet Shutdowns

• Human Rights Watch on Philippine Supreme Court’s ‘Red-Tagging’ Decision

• Didier Stevens Blog Post on DNS

The simple concept behind all modern ransomware is that the only entity interested in a hacked company’s data is the company itself. Encrypting this data forces the company to pay ransom to regain access. This approach significantly elevates the profitability of cybercrimes compared to older methods like direct theft, spam, or data sale, which provided minimal financial returns. The evolution of ransomware reflects a shift to exploiting corporate necessity rather than simple opportunism. Besides, the introduction of cryptocurrencies has facilitated anonymous and secure transactions for these ransoms, bolstering the ransomware model.

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Takeaways:

• Ransomware is effective because it directly targets the only entity that values the compromised data - the victim organization itself, turning essential data into leverage for payment.

• Cryptocurrencies have enhanced the ransomware model by providing a secure and anonymous method for receiving ransom payments, previously a weak link in cybercrime schemes.

• Traditional cybercrimes such as spamming or data theft offered lower profitability compared to ransomware, which demands direct payment from victims to regain access to their encrypted data.

Links:

• View in Browser

• Ransomware Article

• Sunetdagana Conference Speech