Emotet is identified as one of the key emerging cyber threats in Singapore; its activities were detected in the networks of 1 out of 2 organisations

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SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 16 September 2019 – Ensign
InfoSecurity (Ensign), one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity companies in
Asia Pacific, unveiled today its proprietary, first of its kind, Cyber Threat
Detection & Analytics engine. It is capable of providing highly localised
cyber threat intelligence by analysing Singapore-centric network data, which is
then correlated and corroborated with global cyber threat intelligence.

 

This provides
organisations with highly contextualised and actionable information to preempt
and defend against emerging threats.

 

The Ensign Cyber
Threat Detection & Analytics engine was unveiled in conjunction with
the official opening of Ensign’s global headquarters and its new Security
Operations Centre. Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National
Security, Mr Teo Chee Hean, was the Guest-of-Honour of
the event.

 

“Cyber threat actors today are constantly evolving their tactics,
techniques and procedures (TTPs) that allow them to target new attack vectors and vulnerabilities, while
staying undetected in an organisation’s network,” said Dr. Lim Woo Lip,
Executive Vice President, Technology & Capabilities, Ensign InfoSecurity.

 

“The amalgamation
of global and local threat intelligence enables Ensign to provide unique cyber
threat insights that fuel effective and holistic cybersecurity strategies. This
allows us to identify emerging threats and key vulnerabilities, and proactively
implement a multidimensional cyber defence plan, hours or even days, before an
attack,” Dr Lim elaborated.

Providing Highly
Contextualised, Actionable Cyber Threat Intelligence by Leveraging Local
Insights and Global Sources

Ensign’s proprietary Cyber Threat Detection & Analytics engine leverages big data analytics and advanced artificial intelligence
(AI) to detect suspicious activities, and identify threats found in the
networks of locally-based organisations.

 

One of the engine’s key capabilities is real-time behavioural profiling
of network data. This function allows Ensign to stay ahead of threat actors’
fast evolving TTPs by examining anomalies in an organisation’s network, such as
malicious behaviours or patterns associated with different types of cyber
threats.

 

Ensign also collaborates with its cybersecurity
partners in gathering global threat intelligence to complement its local threat data sources.

 

The combination of
local and global intelligence enables the Ensign Cyber Threat Detection &
Analytics engine to provide real-time, highly contextualised, Singapore-centric
threat insights that focus on attacks targeting local networks. It can also
identify threats that are unique to different sectors.

 

This empowers
critical information infrastructure providers, government institutions and
enterprises with actionable, sector-specific information, giving them the
ability to identify, detect and protect against emerging threats, such as
Emotet, with higher confidence and greater accuracy.

 

Emotet — A Key Emerging Threat
in Singapore

Emotet is one of the key cyber threats
that Ensign has identified through its Cyber Threat Detection & Analytics
engine.

First detected by
cybersecurity researchers in 2014, Emotet was created as a Trojan virus to
steal financial data for
illicit monetary gain. Today, Emotet is becoming a significant threat as cyber
threat actors have modified the malware to download and deliver other malicious
variants. 

 

Between 1 January
2019 to 31 June 2019, Ensign found that Emotet activities in Singapore have
increased by more than 300% compared to the same period last year. It has also detected
activities from this malware in 50% of local organisations’ network.  

 

Traditionally used to target the financial services sector, Emotet has
been modified to target other industries. 

 

In Singapore, Ensign uncovered that the top five sectors with the highest regularity
of observed Emotet activities in the first half of 2019 were:

 

 

“Due to
its modular and polymorphic composition, Emotet is almost invisible to conventional signature-based
cybersecurity solutions, explain Dr Lim.

 

“By tapping on advanced
analytics and deep learning to tackle sophisticated threats, cybersecurity
teams will not only be able to detect and respond to an attack in a timely and
effective manner, but also analyse and decipher valuable intelligence that can
be used to devise preemptive measures to stop future attacks,” concluded Dr
Lim.

About Ensign InfoSecurity

Ensign
InfoSecurity is one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity companies in Asia with an extensive footprint within the region. The company is
headquartered in Singapore and has offices in Malaysia and Hong Kong. It has a
workforce of around 500 certified security professionals with skills in the
provision of comprehensive cyber security services. Its core competencies
include security architecture design, validation and management of advanced
security solutions, as well as advanced threat hunting, red teaming and incident
response services.

 

For more
information, visit www.ensigninfosecurity.com.