Business Email Compromise (BEC) , Cybercrime , Cybercrime as-a-service
Total Business Email Compromise Losses Trump Ransomware
Wendi Whitmore, Head of Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42, Details Latest Attack Trends
Ransomware continues to pummel organizations, with the average ransom payment reaching $925,000 so far this year, but the aggregate financial impact of business email compromise - BEC- attacks is even worse, says Wendi Whitmore, head of Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks.
See Also: The Expert Guide to Mitigating Ransomware & Extortion Attacks
In fact, in terms of financial costs, BEC attacks are having "the most significant business impact of so many of the cybercrimes we're seeing," she says.
In a video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2022, Whitmore also discusses:
- Threat intelligence teardown and Unit 42's mission;
- Recent ransomware trends;
- How BEC campaigns continue to evolve.
Whitmore leads Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 , which includes former Crypsis security consultants and members of the original Palo Alto Networks threat researcher group. The combined team helps organizations tackle the most complex cyberthreats - from ransomware to state-sponsored espionage. Whitmore joined Palo Alto Networks from IBM, where she led global X-Force incident response, threat intelligence, incident command and cyber range teams. She previously held executive-level positions in the professional services organizations of CrowdStrike and Mandiant, and she began her career as a special agent conducting computer crime investigations with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
