Before malware is written or a vulnerability is exploited, an attack begins with something completely different: systematic information gathering. Cybercriminals today engage in professional cyber profiling – automated, targeted, and based on real marketplaces on the dark web.

This is because companies are leaving an ever-increasing digital trail: openly accessible information on websites, GitHub, Shodan, social media, or in leaked credentials from info-stealing malware. Combining all this information creates a vulnerable digital image – a cyber profile that is evaluated, sold, and reused before the actual attack begins.

In this presentation, Sören Kohls, Head of Channel DACH at Kaspersky, will demonstrate how this form of attack preparation works ...