End of the Year Report 2024: Uncovering Global Cyber Threats and Trends

As we close the chapter on 2024, the global cybersecurity landscape reveals a year of unprecedented challenges and transformative insights. From sophisticated ransomware campaigns to the alarming proliferation of Stealer Logs, the evolving threat environment has tested the resilience of organizations worldwide. Critical sectors like manufacturing, cryptocurrency, and information services bore the brunt of these attacks, underlining the importance of proactive defenses.

SOCRadar’s End of the Year Report 2024 provides a comprehensive analysis of these trends, equipping CISOs and security teams with actionable intelligence to safeguard critical assets. Below, we summarize the key findings and insights from the report.

SOCRadar’s End of the Year Report 2024

Key Insights from the 2024 Threat Landscape

1. Dark Web Activity

• In 2024, 2,126 threat actors were identified on the Dark Web, posting over 18,537 times. These activities predominantly involved selling compromised data and unauthorized access credentials.
• The United States faced the highest volume of Dark Web targeting, accounting for 19.24% of total posts. The Information industry emerged as the most targeted, representing 12% of Dark Web activity.

2. Ransomware Trends

• The United States was the top target for ransomware attacks, experiencing 54.12% of reported incidents globally.
• The Manufacturing sector was the most affected, making up 18.26% of ransomware activity. Notable ransomware groups like RansomHub, LockBit 3.0, and Play dominated the landscape.

3. Phishing Attacks

• The United States led global phishing attack volumes with 34.89% of incidents, followed by Singapore (15.89%) and the United Kingdom (3.06%).
• The Cryptocurrency and NFT sector faced the highest phishing activity, accounting for 19.11% of incidents, showcasing the adaptive nature of phishing campaigns.

4. Stealer Logs

• Stealer Logs compromised over 5.8 million email/password combinations, 768,328 password hashes, 736,112 credit card details, and 148,962 victim IP addresses globally.
• The United States accounted for 30.10% of these breaches, highlighting the critical need for robust credential security measures.

5. Most Exploited Vulnerabilities

• Vulnerabilities like CVE-2024-9680 (Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free) and CVE-2024-20424 (Cisco Firewall Command Injection) were among the most exploited, with CVSS scores of 9.8 and 9.9, respectively.
• These flaws exposed organizations to remote code execution, data theft, and operational disruption, emphasizing the importance of timely patching.

Why This Report Matters

The End of the Year Report 2024 offers invaluable insights to help organizations:

• Strengthen defenses against ransomware, phishing, and Stealer malware.
• Mitigate risks stemming from Dark Web activities and exploited vulnerabilities.
• Implement multi-layered cybersecurity strategies tailored to an evolving threat landscape.

SOCRadar’s Extended Threat Intelligence (XTI) platform played a pivotal role in equipping security teams with real-time insights throughout 2024. From monitoring underground forums to tracking ransomware groups and phishing campaigns, the platform’s capabilities have proven indispensable in countering sophisticated cyber adversaries.

Prepare for 2025 with SOCRadar

As cyber threats grow more complex, proactive intelligence and advanced monitoring are essential to safeguarding your organization. Unlock the full End of the Year Report 2024 to gain deeper insights and strategic recommendations for navigating the challenges ahead.

With SOCRadar, you can stay one step ahead of cyber adversaries and protect your most valuable assets. Request your free demo today and experience the power of real-time threat intelligence.