In 2024, the real horrors aren’t hiding in haunted houses — they’re lurking around organizational networks. From stealthy ransomware threats to elusive phishing schemes, businesses worldwide have been haunted by a surge of sophisticated cyberattacks this year, making it one of the spookiest yet.
And the real scare? Cybercriminals are only getting smarter. The bad guys are leveraging more complex and insidious methods to bypass defenses with frightening ease. If organizations don’t act now, they might find themselves starring in their very own cyber horror story, where data loss and downtime become living nightmares.
In this blog, we’ll unearth some of the most spine-chilling cyber incidents of 2024, digging deep into what went so horribly wrong for the victims. We’ll also expose the dark, dangerous techniques cybercriminals use to wreak havoc across the business world. But fear not; we won’t leave you stranded in the dark. We’ll also share ways to strengthen your defenses to keep these nightmares at bay.
The year of data dread: 2024’s most haunting breaches
2024 has been a year of terrifying data breaches, where businesses saw their worst cybersecurity fears come to life. Let’s look at some of those incidents, what went wrong and their devastating impact.
Incident 1: Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC
- The first fright: In May, Ticketmaster Entertainment LLC fell victim to the notorious cybercriminal group ShinyHunters. The attackers infiltrated a third-party cloud storage platform, stealing 1.3TB of customer data, and demanded a ransom of $500,000. Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, confirmed the breach, sparking immediate concern over the extent of the damage.
- The ripple of fear: The breach impacted over 40 million users, exposing sensitive details such as order history, payment information, names, addresses and email data. Customers were left vulnerable and widespread panic set in as users scrambled to secure their accounts and information.
- The lingering curse: The aftermath went beyond reputational damage. The Justice Department has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, deepening the blow.
Incident 2: Dell Technologies, Inc.
- The first fright: The month of May proved to be a truly haunting month for tech giants, with Dell Technologies, Inc. also becoming the target of a massive cyberattack. The attacker, Menelik, openly revealed to TechCrunch how he exploited Dell’s company portal by creating partner accounts to extract vast amounts of customer data. Dell later notified customers, confirming the data breach.
- The ripple of fear: Although financial details remained secure, sensitive customer information, including names, addresses and order data, was compromised, affecting over 49 million customers. The attacker later breached another Dell portal, exposing additional customer data, such as phone numbers and email addresses, amplifying concerns.
- The lingering curse: The breach left Dell’s reputation scarred, with reports surfacing that the stolen data is now being sold on hacker forums.
Double terror: As if one attack wasn’t enough, Dell faced another cyber incident just a few months later, in September. This time, a threat actor known as “grep” claimed responsibility on a hacking forum, allegedly leaking the data of over 10,000 employees. The breach, labeled “minor” by the attacker, is being investigated by the tech giant.
Incident 3: Change Healthcare
- The first fright: In February, Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth, was hit by a devastating ransomware attack from the notorious BlackCat gang. Using stolen credentials, the attackers gained access to Change’s data systems, exfiltrating up to 4TB of sensitive patient data. They then deployed ransomware that crippled healthcare billing, payment operations and other critical processes. This breach has been labeled as one of the most consequential attacks ever to strike the U.S. healthcare system.
- The ripple of fear: Change Healthcare processes nearly 40% of all medical claims in the U.S., and the attack severely disrupted healthcare services across the country, threatening patients’ access to care. Meanwhile, the stolen data included personal information, payment details, insurance records and other types of sensitive information, which led to a non-verified ransom payment of $22 million.
- The lingering curse: The breach occurred due to a lack of multifactor authentication (MFA) on remote access servers, a clear violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has opened investigations into the attack, considering its unprecedented impact on patient care and privacy.
The dark arts: Evolving cyberattack techniques
This year, we’ve seen an alarming increase in sophisticated attack techniques that slip through defenses undetected. In this section, we’ll pull back the curtain on these new tactics.
The vishing trap: How remote connection tools are being exploited
Threat actors are turning to voice phishing, or vishing, as a powerful social engineering tactic to breach corporate networks. By impersonating helpdesk or IT personnel, attackers trick unsuspecting users into granting them access to the user systems. In some cases, they even bombard victims with spam emails and then pose as the solution to the very problem they created, making their approach seem legitimate.
For instance, Microsoft Threat Intelligence discovered that threat actors are misusing its client management tool, Quick Assist, to conduct social engineering attacks, ultimately leading to the deployment of Black Basta ransomware. Quick Assist is an application that allows users to share their Windows or macOS devices with another person via a remote connection. Threat actors exploit the features of Quick Assist by impersonating trusted contacts, such as Microsoft technical support or IT professionals from the target user’s company, in order to gain initial access to the target device.
The silent signal: How infostealers are setting up ransomware attacks
Infostealer malware is a dangerous early warning sign for ransomware attacks today. Cybercriminals are increasingly using these malicious tools to siphon valuable digital identity data, authentication credentials and session cookies from infected users. This stolen information is then sold to ransomware gangs, setting the stage for more sophisticated and devastating attacks.
A recent example involved the Qilin ransomware gang, which breached a target via a VPN portal. Instead of immediately deploying ransomware, the attackers waited 18 days, strategically using a custom infostealer to harvest credentials from Google Chrome. Once they had the necessary information, they launched their ransomware attack, proving how infostealers are becoming a crucial step in today’s advanced ransomware campaigns.
The rise of “evil AI”: Powering the next wave of cyberattacks
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being leveraged on both sides of the fence — by businesses to strengthen their cybersecurity and by attackers to create more dangerous threats. For example, on the dark side, cybercriminals are leveraging AI to develop their own generative engines, empowering even unskilled hackers to launch complex attacks. These AI-driven tools generate malicious codes, craft hard-to-detect phishing emails and automate complex attack strategies.
WormGPT made headlines as the first of its kind, but a wave of similar tools, such as Evil-GPT, FraudGPT, XXXGPT and Wolf GPT, now join it. With membership fees only costing a few hundred dollars, these tools provide a low-cost gateway for attackers to quickly execute ransomware schemes at scale.
Sealing the gates: Remediation strategies to ward off attacks
Now, let’s explore three critical strategies that can help you keep these cyber nightmares at bay.
Strategy 1: Prepare for the worst with an effective incident response plan
In the face of a cyberattack, time is your most valuable asset. A well-prepared incident response plan (IRP) can be the difference between a minor disruption and a full-blown disaster. By acting swiftly when a data breach or ransomware attack occurs, organizations can contain the threat and prevent deeper damage.
Best practices for an effective incident response plan include:
- Improve asset management: Regularly assess and update your cybersecurity tools to ensure they can address current threats. Train your incident response team (IRT) across the entire tool suite and maintain a centralized location for licenses and upgrades. This helps maximize the effectiveness of your tools and ensures smoother execution of the incident response plan.
- Centralize communication: Use a single platform for all incident-related communication. This platform should include investigation updates, findings and decisions made while clearly defining each team member’s role. Centralized communication helps eliminate conflicting information, reduces missed messages and fosters collaboration.
- Test, test, test: Regularly test your incident response plan to ensure readiness. Conducting mock scenarios or tabletop exercises will help your team understand the plan’s steps and procedures, avoiding any surprises when a real incident occurs. Testing ensures your business can respond swiftly and effectively when needed.
Strategy 2: Strengthen your frontline with security awareness training
Employees can be your strongest defense — or your weakest link — when it comes to cyberthreats. The human element plays a crucial role in protecting your organization, especially against phishing and social engineering attacks. Cybercriminals often target employees, knowing that one wrong click can open the door to a devastating breach.
By providing comprehensive awareness training, you empower your team to recognize threats and respond appropriately. Regularly educating employees on the latest tactics used by cybercriminals, like phishing and vishing, strengthens your first line of defense and significantly reduces the risk of an attack. A well-trained workforce is key to keeping cyber nightmares at bay.
Strategy 3: Stay resilient with the last line of defense — data backup & recovery
When all else fails, backup and recovery become your ultimate safety net. Even in the face of a successful cyberattack, comprehensive backups ensure your business can bounce back quickly and continue operations as usual. Secure, up-to-date backups help you restore critical data and minimize downtime. Increase backup resilience by storing copies off-network on immutable storage, such as the cloud. Backups are the last line of defense that keep your business from grinding to a halt.
The importance of backup and recovery becomes crystal clear when looking at the experience of the Bethlehem Central School District. This public school district in New York, which serves 5,000 students and 800 staff, has faced the rising threat of ransomware head-on. While attacks on educational institutions have become increasingly common across the country, the IT team at Bethlehem Central rests easy, knowing that Unitrends has their back (up).
“We’ve had two separate ransomware incidents where users informed me that their files were encrypted with a message about paying a ransom. It was trivial and quick for me to restore the data from the Unitrends backup,” says Gary Halbedel, network administrator for the Bethlehem Central School District. She adds, “I have much less stress and worry about whether the systems I am responsible for will be recoverable in the event of an incident.” For over 10 years, the school district has relied on Unitrends to ensure their data remains secure and fully recoverable, even in the face of ransomware.
Stay safe and secure in 2025 and beyond: Level up your resilience with Unitrends
The spookiest cyber incidents of 2024 have shown just how vulnerable businesses can be when they’re unprepared. The lesson is clear: cybercriminals are getting smarter, the stakes are higher than ever, and investing in a robust cybersecurity strategy is the key to avoiding a nightmare scenario. Strengthening your defenses before the next threat rears its head is crucial.
That’s where Unitrends comes in. Unitrends offers a comprehensive platform to protect your business from evolving cyberthreats. Its purpose-built, hardened backup appliances provide a robust defense against attacks, while its immutable cloud storage ensures your data is secure and untouchable. You can also confidently rely on its AI-powered threat detection to actively monitor suspicious activities, helping you to stop attacks before they cause any damage. With Recovery Assurance testing, you can rest assured that your backups are reliable and ready for rapid recovery in the event of an actual incident. With Unitrends, you have the tools to defend against today’s and tomorrow’s threats and recover swiftly from any cyber nightmare.
Ready to face the cyber spooks of 2025? Strengthen your defenses with Unitrends and sleep easy. Book a call with one of our experts today.