Blackberry Warns of “Financially Motivated Attacks”
Posted on 05/31/2023
Former cell phone giant Research in Motion, now Blackberry, has shifted its focus to cybersecurity in recent years. Blackberry says there has been an increase in cyberattacks aimed at financial institutions, and also food service firms and hospitals. Combined, they field 60% of all threats.
Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell also ominously warned of a cyberattack in the financial system in 2021. Powell told CBS: “I would say that the risk that we keep our eyes on the most now is cyber risk. So you would worry about a cyber event. That’s something that many, many government agencies, including the Fed and all large private businesses and all large private financial companies in particular, monitor very carefully, invest heavily in. And that’s really where the risk I would say is now, rather than something that looked like the global financial crisis.”
According to Blackberry’s report, AI is a major concern: “The use of deepfakes and artificial intelligence (AI) in the overall threat landscape have gained traction, and ChatGPT is an example of this in action. Like all new technologies, it wasn’t long before its uses were being tested for nefarious purposes.”
Cyber threats are common. According to a May 2023 report by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), Snake malware has been discovered in 50 countries. Snake has “tools, and techniques, tactics, and procedures” to exploit computer systems once it is in place.
