Smart Protection Network (SPN) data and observations from Managed Detection and Response (MDR) for the North American region show the persistence of older threats and tactics: delivery methods such as spam emails are still going strong, while ransomware attacks have seen a renewed vigor alongside newer threats such as cryptocurrency mining malware in the third quarter of 2018.

However, the prevalence of these older threats should not be misconstrued as a sign that threat actors are resting on their laurels. In fact, it should be taken as proof that they are constantly improving proven tools and techniques to get ahead in the never-ending cat-and-mouse game between cybercriminals and security providers.