Google’s cybersecurity team claims that cryptocurrency mining abuse is making Google Cloud accounts more vulnerable to hacking. The information was shared in a new report titled “Threat Horizons” from Google’s Cybersecurity Action Team this month. The report notes that Google Cloud users are vulnerable to phishing attempts from a Russian group that also targets Yahoo mail users. Other threats come from North Korean hackers posing as recruiters and promising jobs at Samsung.
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Google says the new report is based on information gathered by the TAG (Threat Analysis Group) and other internal teams. The report highlights: “[Threat Analysis] provides actionable intelligence that allows organizations to ensure their cloud environments are better protected from ever-evolving threats. In this and future threat intelligence reports, Google will provide threat horizon scanning, trend monitoring, and early warning notifications about emerging threats that require immediate action.”.
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Speaking of compromised Google Cloud accounts, 86 percent of the cases were used for cryptocurrency mining. Additionally, 10 percent of the compromised Cloud accounts were used to conduct scans of other publicly available resources on the internet to identify vulnerable systems, and 8 percent of the cases were used to attack other targets. Google notes that data theft does not appear to be the direct goal of these breaches, and that the vulnerable accounts are susceptible to multiple forms of abuse.
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The report lists some of the most common practices for mitigating online threats. Starting with the simplest solution, Google Cloud customers should use two-factor authentication and not use shared passwords across different platforms. For organizations, the report adds that customers can enroll in the Advanced Protection Program and use Google's Work Safer, which gives companies access to additional security tools for email, meetings, messaging, documents, and more.
Information source: news18.com
