NCSC Grapples with 915 Cyber Incidents in Q4 2023

Amman: The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) grappled with 915 cyber incidents targeting critical government networks, ministries, and key institutions during the fourth quarter of last year, as outlined in the center's cybersecurity situation report published recently. The report unveils a meticulous response effort with 30 operations executed by the cyber incident response team, accompanied by 31 digital analysis endeavors to scrutinize evidence linked to these incidents. Notably, incidents ranged in severity from low (21 percent) to serious (2 percent) and medium (77 percent). Among the notable cyber threats identified, ransomware accounted for 4.48 percent, hacking attempts for 5.25 percent, while malware incidents, both for information collection (8.63 percent) and general malware (55.85 percent), remained prevalent. Examinations of government servers and institutions revealed a rise in security vulnerabilities, surging to 124,901, marking a 51 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. Ad ditionally, 810 vulnerabilities were uncovered across 113 government websites, reflecting a 14 percent uptick. Penetration tests surged to 72, detecting 87 vulnerabilities a 61 percent rise from the preceding quarter with medium-risk vulnerabilities accounting for 13 percent, high-risk for 22 percent, serious for 25 percent, and low-risk for 40 percent. Critical national cyber risks identified encompassed the use of unlicensed or outdated software, open protocols sans data encryption, insecure network protocol configurations, and exposed internal services. These risks were categorized by severity, with high (14 percent) and critical (10 percent) posing significant threats. Of grave concern were the escalating attacks orchestrated by advanced threat groups, posing substantial risks due to their technical prowess and sophisticated attack methodologies, often aimed at data exfiltration or system disruption. Outdated systems and software emerged as prime vulnerabilities exploited by attackers. Noteworthy inci dents included targeted attacks on government institutions, ransomware assaults on vital national entities, and website content tampering across four Jordanian institutions. Instances of data leaks affecting government employees' accounts and malware activity linked to national infrastructure underscored the gravity of cybersecurity challenges. The report highlighted a doubling in cyber incidents compared to the previous quarter, attributed to enhanced threat detection capabilities, expanded monitoring scope, and increased digitalization efforts across institutions. The surge in malware incidents by 75 percent and indicators of policy non-compliance underscored systemic weaknesses in cybersecurity practices across organizations. Source: Jordan News Agency