50% of cyber attacks now use island hopping

Financial, retail and manufacturing businesses are in the firing line of this increasingly popular cyber attack method. Island hopping is an increasingly popular cyber attack technique where cyber criminals infiltrate smaller companies, such as HR, marketing or healthcare firms, in order to access a larger target organisation. It’s a method that has seen a steep rise in usage over the past few years, with 50% of today’s attacks using island hopping, according to Carbon Black’s Quarterly Incident Threat Report. The report revealed that the industries most affected by island hopping are financial (42%), manufacturing (32%) and retail (32%), although those numbers may well be higher as it is sometimes difficult to work out the journey of an attempted cyber attack. “At this point, [island hopping] has become part and parcel of a cybercrime conspiracy,” said Tom Kellerman, Carbon Black’s chief cybersecurity officer. “They’re using their victim’s brand against customers and partners of that company.