At TurkuSec meetup in April, I had the opportunity to share my insights on a pressing issue we’ve been researching lately at F-Secure: the cybersecurity challenges faced by digital natives. These are individuals who have grown up with fast internet and personal screens, making them uniquely vulnerable to online threats. Our research highlights some concerning trends among young adults aged 18-24:

• 45% of 18-24-year-olds have fallen victim of cybercrime in the past 12 months
• 45% of 18-24-year-olds have encountered scams at least weekly in the past 12 months

Understanding the risks

The online world presents numerous risks for digital natives, including:

• Social media scams: phishing attacks and fraudulent profiles that trick users into divulging personal information or sending money.
• Gaming platform vulnerabilities: in-game scams, account hacks, and data breaches that expose personal and financial information.
• Educational system vulnerabilities: compromised online learning platforms that can lead to data theft and privacy violations.

In my talk, I emphasized the necessity of cybersecurity education tailored specifically for digital natives. This education should focus not only on the dangers but also on empowering young people to navigate the digital world securely and confidently.

For those who missed the talk or want to explore the topic further, I’ve uploaded the full presentation, including slides, on X (adblockers might hide the embedded video, but you can see it by opening the X post in a new tab). Timestamps below 👇

"Digital natives are not cybersecurity natives"

My talk from @turkusec April meetup.

00:00 Intro
03:22 Facts
07:39 Threats
31:10 Comms
36:34 Solutions
44:40 FAQ#cybersecurity #cybersecurityawareness pic.twitter.com/ESnivN8qPA

— Joel Latto (@joellatto) April 12, 2024

I believe there’s a pretty clear consensus within the industry that ransomware should not be mistaken anymore to limit itself to just encrypting files and demanding payment for a decryption key. Dubbed by F-Secure “Ransomware 2.0”, now the standard practice for ransomware groups includes also stealing files from the target company in order to increase the leverage for ransom. Proper backups are an antidote to encrypted files but won’t help against the threat of stolen data being leaked.

Although this double extortion scheme has been the new modus operandi only since late 2019, cyber criminals are already looking for additional ways to apply pressure to their victims. This is where Ransomware 3.0 comes in.

Continue reading “What is Ransomware 3.0?” →