Name: Ransomware Actors: A Closer Look at the Criminals Behind the Attacks
Start: 2024-12-05T17:48:00Z
End: 2024-12-05T17:49:04.000Z
Location: BrightTALK
Rating: 4.5

Bitdefender is a cybersecurity leader delivering best-in-class threat prevention, detection, and response solutions worldwide. Guardian over millions of consumers, enterprises, and government environments, Bitdefender is one of the industry’s most trusted experts for eliminating threats, protecting privacy, digital identity and data, and enabling cyber resilience.

With deep investments in research and development, Bitdefender Labs discovers hundreds of new threats each minute and validates billions of threat queries daily. The company has pioneered breakthrough innovations in antimalware, IoT security, behavioral analytics, and artificial intelligence and its technology is licensed by more than 180 of the world’s most recognized technology brands. Founded in 2001, Bitdefender has customers in 170+ countries with offices around the world. 

For more information, visit https://www.bitdefender.com.
Trusted. Always.

For lean IT and security teams, chasing alerts and reacting to threats is not sustainable, especially as ransomware and data breaches grow faster, stealthier, and increasingly automated with AI. Leading industry analysts stress that stopping evolved attacks now hinges on new approaches like dynamic attack surface reduction and other preemptive strategies.
In this session, we’ll break down key concepts with real examples of how tools apply them and the benefits for lean teams - reducing attack surfaces, cutting investigation time, and disrupting attacks before they escalate.
We’ll also show how Bitdefender PHASR puts these ideas into action, dynamically closing ransomware attack paths and strengthening a unified security model without added work or overhauling existing tools.

What you’ll take away from this session:
• Learn how to counter stealthy ransomware with dynamic attack surface reduction.
• Begin the shift from reactive defense to prevention-first strategies.
• See how PHASR reduces attack surfaces and blocks ransomware early.
• Reinforce a unified model of prevention, protection, detection and response - without replacing existing tools.

From Reactive to Preemptive: How Lean Teams Shut Down Ransomware Paths

The latest FBI Internet Crime Report* highlights significant trends and statistics related to cybercrime, revealing an alarming rise in criminal activity that has resulted in over $12 billion lost in the U.S. alone. In light of this, it's vital to stay informed about the latest threats and protection strategies.
 
Join Catalin Cosoi, Chief Security Strategist at Bitdefender, and expert guests for an insightful webinar covering:  

• Evolving Ransomware Defense Strategies
• Distinctions Between Business Email Compromise and Phishing
• The Role of Initial Access Brokers in Cybercrime
• Tactics Behind Phishing and Social Engineering
• The Risks of AI-Powered Fraud and Deepfakes
• Financial Fraud Techniques and Money Laundering
• Insider Threats and Credential Theft 

Don’t miss this opportunity to bolster your organization’s defenses against cyber threats.

Hit From All Sides: Cyber Fraud Targeting Organizations

With a constantly evolving threat landscape and an overwhelming number of security tools available, many organizations struggle to determine which solutions will provide the most meaningful protection. Even after making the right investments, teams often face challenges in fully utilizing and operationalizing those tools to detect and respond to threats effectively.
To stay ahead of today’s fast-moving threats like ransomware, organizations need more than isolated point solutions—they need an end-to-end security platform that pairs powerful technology with expert guidance.

In this webinar, you’ll hear how Bitdefender’s GravityZone platform detected and stopped a ransomware encryption attempt in progress—before any damage occurred. At the same time, Bitdefender’s MDR team traced the attacker’s activity, contained the threat, and removed the intruder from the environment. This real-world case study demonstrates how integrated tools, and expert services combine for faster, more effective threat response.

Join Dragos Gavrilut, VP of Threat Research, and our SOC team members Joseph Krom and Jason Miller as they walk through what this attack looked like in the real world—and how organizations can better prepare with a fully integrated security approach.

Find out:

• How Bitdefender GravityZone detects and halts ransomware attacks in real time
• The role MDR analysts play in identifying attacker behavior and remediating incidents
• Why tools alone often fall short—and how human expertise fills the gap
• What an end-to-end security platform looks like in practice
• How to evaluate and operationalize your security investments more effectively

Inside the Kill Chain: How Bitdefender GravityZone and MDR Experts Stopped a Ransomware Attack

With cyber threats on the rise, it’s imperative that organizations have a structured plan to identify and respond to threats.

Many organizations stop once they have procured and deployed security tools, but it often takes a team to operationalize those tools in order to successfully detect and remediate threats.
Join Kevin Gee, Principal Product Marketing Manager at Bitdefender, as he walks through the options available to organizations for addressing cyber threats. He’ll provide a framework for thinking about what it takes to build a cybersecurity program, and the factors organizations must consider when calculating the various costs.

In this webinar you’ll learn:
• The various options organizations implement to address cyber threats.
• All the cost factors to consider across each option
• How to establish a baseline for comparing costs
• Predicting the cost of possible breaches
• The cost of building a team
• The cost value and benefits of an MDR

Determining the cost of a SOC and calculating the value of an MDR

Join guest speaker IDC Research Director Dr. Mike Jude and Bitdefender experts as they explore how proactive hardening, attack surface management, and AI-driven analytics are redefining endpoint security. This shift in cyber defense is occurring at a critical time: 84% of major cyberattacks now utilize Living off the land (LOTL) techniques and organizations must proactively approach this challenge.

Join the conversation to discover how intelligent technologies eliminate the traditional trade-off between deep hardening and business efficiency.

Organizations can now minimize employee attack surfaces while enabling improved user productivity and operational efficiency. 

You will learn:
• The current state of endpoint threats that exploit legitimate tools and how attacker tactics are evolving
• Why managing exposure through hardening and posture control is now a strategic priority
• How context-aware solutions can support both resilience and manageability

Endpoint Resilience Redefined: on the Power of Adaptive Attack Surface Reduction

Bitdefender presents CYBERCRIME: From the Frontline—the podcast that takes you inside real-life cyberattacks.

In this episode, cyber experts and analysts dive into the mounting challenges defenders face in 2025. It’s a world where nation-state threats, AI weaponization, and global instability collide.

We'll look into:

- Geopolitical Chaos — Cyberattacks are growing in frequency and sophistication, driven by rising mistrust, fractured alliances, and data sovereignty disputes.
- Deepfakes & Voice Cloning — Attackers exploit AI to bypass human trust, targeting CFOs and CEOs in social engineering scams with startling realism.
- Detection Fatigue — Alert overload and one-size-fits-all security models are overwhelming SOC teams as the attack surface continues to expand.
- Tailored Defense — How AI-powered adaptive, behavior-based security and proactive attack surface management are critical to outmaneuver persistent threats.
 
Bitdefender Director of IoT Security Dan Berte hosts Forrester Principal Analyst Allie Mellen, Bitdefender Vice President of Threat Research Dragos Gavrilut, and Bitdefender Senior Director of Product Management Daniel Daraban.

Ep. 4: Geopolitics and Cyber War: AI, Deepfakes, and the New Frontlines of Espionage

Bitdefender presents CYBERCRIME: From the Frontline—the podcast that takes you inside real-life cyberattacks. From ransomware to deepfake scams, threat actors are getting smarter. In this episode:  

- The red flag to watch for related to employment scams: are you a target right now? 
- It’s possible those perpetrating romance scams may communicate with your family members more frequently than you do, we discuss the setup for these attacks. 
- Cyber fraud victims are embarrassed and often hide after being scammed. How can we change that? 
- Plus, Nation-State threat actors are using cyber fraud to target all of us. Learn about this trend and the efforts to fight back.  

Bitdefender Director of IoT Security Dan Berte hosts Bitdefender Laura Matei-Malecu, Product Marketing Manager, Razvan Costache, Director, B2C Innovation and Bitdefender Bob Botezatu, Director, Threat Research & Reporting.

Ep. 3: Romance, Crypto, and Your Dream Job: How Modern Cyber Scams Are Evolving

Watch this webinar and learn about Living Off the Land (LOTL) attacks, including a case study highlighting the practical and disruptive characteristics of an unconventional technique. 

This session also covers the top 5 LOTL tools used by threat actors and patterns connected to adversary behavior. 

Key Takeaways: 

- Staying informed: Attendees will understand the nature and impact of LOTL attacks;
- Being proactive: Attendees, grasping the implications of threats in the current landscape, will more effectively identify and anticipate potential risks in their own environments

Living Off the Land: Trusted Tools, Malicious Intent

Bitdefender presents Cybercrime: From the Frontline—the podcast that takes you inside real cyberattacks. In this episode:  

- Organizations around the world have now lost more than $55 billion through business email compromise (BEC) attacks. 
- Learn how attackers perpetrating this fraud leverage proprietary information, abuse trusted relationships, and act with a sense of authority.  
- Understand a recent twist where business email compromise attacks may not involve email at all. 
- Plus, Taylor Swift fans lose big to cyber fraud at one of her UK concerts. 

This week, podcast host and Bitdefender Director of IoT Security Dan Berte welcomes VP of APAC and Cyber Security Services Paul Hadjy, and Director of Threat Research & Reporting Bogdan Botezatu, onto the podcast.

Ep. 2: Business Email Compromise: Billions in Losses, One Click at a Time

Bitdefender presents Cybercrime: From the Frontline—the podcast that takes you inside real cyberattacks. In this episode:  

- IT support and Microsoft Teams — hear how threat actors are weaponizing the legitimate to breach your environment. 
- The Dark Web trend that could fuel a new wave of insider threat attacks? Is your organization prepared for these?  
- Why a growing number of organizations pay the ransom after a successful attack. 
- Experts share their motivation behind a career in cybersecurity. Will it match yours?  

Bitdefender Director of IoT Security Dan Berte hosts Bitdefender Chief Security Strategist Catalin Cosoi, Director of Global Security Operations Tyler Baker and Senior Manager of the Bitdefender Global SOC, Joshua Armstrong.

Ep. 1: Cyber Fraud Exposed: The Evolving Tactics of Cybercriminals

In 2025, 75% of US organizations and 68% globally recognize that disabling unnecessary tools is essential for strengthening their security posture. This is no surprise considering that the use of legitimate tools by bad actors is soaring, with 70% of today’s cyberattacks involving Living off the Land (LOTL) techniques according to Bitdefender research.

Watch the webinar session to gain exclusive insights into employee attack surfaces, why tools that users don’t need are accessible for attackers, and how you can address this challenge.

In this session, we covered:
- The rise of LOTL attacks, and how attackers are using legitimate tools to blend in
- Insights into unnecessary tools that are commonly enabled for employees that don’t need them
- Why conventional preventative and detection controls have failed to address these challenges
- How Bitdefender’s new adaptive attack surface reduction proactively minimizes risks by dynamically tailoring hardening to best fit each user’s needs.

Shrinking the Attack Surface and Stopping Misuse of Legitimate Tools

Watch this webinar that explores the key cybersecurity trends shaping the threat landscape in 2025. 

We discuss the rise of hacktivism, the latest developments in the world of ransomware, the growing influence of state-sponsored actors, and the potential impact of quantum computing.
Learn how to anticipate and mitigate emerging threats, including the realities of AI-powered attacks against humans and machines:
• The evolution of ransomware tactics and key trends that will shape the RaaS industry.
• A reality check on the role of AI and large learning models.
• Explore the emerging threats including hacktivism and quantum computers.

Predictions 2025: Ransomware Fragmentation, AI Realities, and the Rise of Hacktivism

Living off the Land (LOTL) techniques are now used in 70% of major attacks, blending into normal activity by exploiting legitimate utilities. Because end-user behavior is unique and static application control rules are often too rigid, they offer limited protection and are difficult for IT teams to manage against LOTL threats. Bitdefender’s NEW GravityZone PHASR is a groundbreaking hardening solution that delivers personalized and dynamic attack surface reduction. This stops Living Off the Land techniques before they can do damage, without hampering productivity or burdening IT teams.

In this session, part of the 2025 RSA Conference, Gabe Knuth, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), joins Martin Zugec, Technical Solutions Director from Bitdefender to dig into attack surface reduction approaches.

Tune into the session to gain instrumental guidance on:

- The current threat landscape including trends and new attack vectors
- The playbooks with which threat actors are compromising organizations
- Why LOTL techniques are used in the majority of today’s attacks
- An introduction to PHASR and it’s revolutionary methods to reduce the attack surface

LOTL: The Link Between (Nearly) Every Major Breach

Watch our session as we unpack the latest MITRE ATT&CK® Enterprise Evaluations, Bitdefender’s results, and their significance.  

For this webinar, we invited members of our own SOC team to share their experiences with a platform recently evaluated in the MITRE ATT&CK® Evaluations and discuss what makes it truly actionable in a real-world security environment.

 What you’ll learn: 
• Why the Alert Volume and False Positive metrics are welcome additions to round 6 of MITRE ATT&CK® Enterprise Evaluations
• Where Bitdefender excelled in round 6 of the MITRE ATT&CK® Enterprise Evaluations  
• Insights from the Bitdefender SOC and Bitdefender Labs on EDR/XDR platform actionability and alert fatigue
• The Bitdefender approach to effectively securing against sophisticated cyber attacks 
This session is not a marketing event but a technical deep dive, a great opportunity to gain insights from the front lines of threat detection and response.

2024 MITRE ATT&CK® Evaluations: Round 6

In today's rapidly expanding and increasingly complex attack surface, regulatory compliance has become a cornerstone of effective risk management. With the introduction of new regulations like NIS2 and DORA, you might feel uncertain about where to start or what actionable steps to take.
Register for this on-demand webinar where we demonstrate how compliance can serve as a strategic tool for mitigating cyber risks and strengthening organizational resilience.
We dive deep into two critical industry standards, NIS2 and DORA, examining their importance, key requirements, and practical strategies to help your organization proactively identify and address security risks.
Key Highlights: 
• Key Drivers of Effective Risk and Compliance Initiatives
• Essential Insights into NIS2 and DORA 
• Practical Steps to Align with Key Industry Standards: NIS2 and DORA
• Enhancing Your Security Posture Through Proactive Risk Mitigation

Navigating DORA and NIS2: Compliance and Cyber Resilience Best Practices

For today’s digital warriors, staying ahead of emerging threats is key. Watch our exclusive webinar where we uncover the complexities of the dark web, providing you with the knowledge and tools needed to combat its growing influence.

This session will cover key aspects of Tor, the ecosystem of dark markets, and essential cryptographic techniques.

Agenda:
- How Tor Browser and Hidden Services Work: Understand the fundamentals of the Tor network, its role in anonymous browsing, and the mechanics behind hidden services.
- Legitimate Use Cases: We’ll present some legitimate applications of Tor technology beyond its association with illegal activities.
- The Dark Markets Ecosystem: A look at the structure and operations of dark markets, and how they sustain the cybercriminal economy.
- Ransomware Ecosystem: Learn about the connections between ransomware and the dark web, including how cybercriminals leverage these platforms for financial gain.
- How PGP Cryptography Works: Gain a basic understanding of PGP cryptography, including symmetric and asymmetric methods, and their application in securing dark web communications.

Demystifying the Dark Web: Critical Insights for Cybersecurity Pros

Ransomware attacks are not just a technical problem—they're orchestrated by real people with distinct motivations, tactics, and goals. But who are these shadowy figures driving the attacks that cripple businesses and demand million-dollar ransoms?

Tune in for a deep dive into the world of ransomware actors. We'll expose the criminal ecosystems, their operations, and the complex relationships between key players.

This webinar will offer unique insights into:
- Operators: A discussion on the backgrounds and regions of the criminals behind ransomware groups, and how cultural and geopolitical dynamics shape their attacks.
- Affiliates: Unpack the structure of affiliates-as-a-service and independent players fueling ransomware operations across the globe.
- Attribution: Learn how experts use advanced intelligence and forensic techniques to trace attacks back to these elusive criminals.

Ransomware Actors: A Closer Look at the Criminals Behind the Attacks

Ransomware

Cyber Attacks

Cyber Crime

Cyber Security

Cyber Defense

Attack Vectors

Cloud computing has exploded over the past few years, delivering a previously unimagined level of workplace mobility and flexibility. The cloud computing community on BrightTALK is made up of thousands of engaged professionals learning from the latest cloud computing research and resources. Join the community to expand your cloud computing knowledge and have your questions answered in live sessions with industry experts and vendor representatives.

Cloud Computing

The IT security community on BrightTALK is composed of more than 200,000 IT security professionals trading relevant information on software assurance, network security and mobile security. Join the conversation by watching on-demand and live information security webinars and asking questions of experts and industry leaders.

IT Security

Increasing expectations for good governance, effective risk management and complex demands for corporate compliance are presenting a growing challenge for organizations of all sizes. Join industry thought leaders as they provide you with practical advice on how to implement successful risk and compliance management strategies across your organization. Browse risk management resources in the form of interactive webinars and videos and ask questions of expert GRC professionals.

IT Governance, Risk and Compliance

The data center management community focuses on the holistic management and optimization of the data center. From technologies such as virtualization and cloud computing to data center design, colocation, energy efficiency and monitoring, the BrightTALK data center management community provides the most up-to-date and engaging content from industry experts to better your infrastructure and operations. Engage with a community of your peers and industry experts by asking questions, rating presentations and participating in polls during webinars, all while you gain insight that will help you transform your infrastructure into a next generation data center.

Data Center Management

The unexpected nature of natural disasters and other disruptive events means that preparation is key to managing disaster recovery and business continuity planning. Join the business continuity and disaster recovery community for live and recorded presentations discussing best practices for business continuity planning, disaster recovery programs and business continuity management. Learn from BCDR experts to develop your critical infrastructure and gain insight into tactical solutions to your BCDR issues.

Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery

Get powerful end user computing insights from influential EUC experts. Connect with thought leaders and colleagues to get the most up-to-date knowledge on effective approaches to get non-programmers to create working applications.

End User Computing

As an IT professional, many of the problems you face are multifaceted, complex and don’t lend themselves to simple solutions. The information technology community features useful and free information technology resources. Join to browse thousands of videos and webinars on ITIL best practices, IT security strategy and more presented by leading CTOs, CIOs and other technology experts.

Information Technology

Get powerful insights on how to best serve today's customers. If you want to create a successful customer experience today, you will have to appeal to the need for “alone together” time. Millennials, Gen X, Boomers or Silent Generation all look for shared but individual experiences.

Customer Experience

The sales community on BrightTALK brings together thousands of engaged sales professionals. Learn about careers in IT sales and marketing, sales techniques and selling strategies. Join the discussion by participating in on-demand and live sales webinars and summits with leaders in the sales industry.

Sales

Get powerful emerging technology insights from influential experts. Connect with thought leaders and colleagues to get the most up-to-date knowledge on technologies like 3D printing, pervasive robotics, natural interfaces, connected everything and cognitive systems.

Emerging Technologies

The research and development community on BrightTALK brings together leading professionals in healthcare, technology and manufacturing to present on current topics in their fields. From big data in healthcare to online forensics training and medical research practices, the community is an exceptional resource for those looking to expand their knowledge. Be part of the conversation by joining the community and participating in interactive live webinars.

Research and Development

Internal audit and compliance professionals are facing increasingly stringent regulatory requirements when it comes to compliance reporting and internal control procedures. Join the audit and compliance community to learn best practices from thought leaders on topics such as regulatory compliance, internal audit checklists and audit program strategies.

Audit and Compliance

The accounting and finance community on BrightTALK features presentations from leading accountants and finance professionals. The accounting community includes tax planning strategies, QuickBooks webinars and other accounting webinars, while the finance community features presentations on financial capital regulations and forensic data analytics. Join the conversation by attending live financial and accounting presentations and connecting with industry thought leaders.

Finance

Get powerful insights to run your business. CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, COOs, CTOs and CIOs are among the leaders in this community who connect with peers and experts to grow their businesses.

CxO Strategy

In the business management community, commercial experts will be sharing webinars and videos on an array of subjects. From sales and marketing, to finance, productivity and growth, this content will help you stay up-to-date with the current economic environment and provide timely management insight to drive business growth.

Ransomware Actors: A Closer Look at the Criminals Behind the Attacks

Presented by

About this talk

Bitdefender Talks