Spear phishing attacks pose an ongoing threat to organizational cybersecurity, requiring effective response measures. This study examines measures that can be implemented by Swedish organizations to respond to successful spear phishing attacks, focusing on technical solutions and cybersecurity frameworks. Through 14 semi-structured interviews with incident response teams and cybersecurity professionals, insights were gathered on the effectiveness of these measures as well as the challenges that may be faced in complying with them. The results indicate the presence of two primary response measures: technical solutions used during and after the successful attack. In addition, cybersecurity frameworks play a critical role in guiding organizations in countering successful spear phishing attacks. While the results provide valuable insight, their effectiveness varies depending on the challenges the organization may face in complying with measures. This study underscores the importance of comprehensive and effective measures to respond to successful spear phishing attacks and improve organizational resilience to evolving cyber threats.

Cybersäkerhet är ett konstant växande hot mot organisationer, genom det ständigt ökade digitaliserade samhället, dock finns tecken på att medvetenheten hos organisationer ökar vad gäller cyberattacker och cybersäkerhet. Cyberattacker kan skapa konsekvenser som kan förhindra organisationens verksamhet. Detta lägger grunden till arbetet, att se hur försvarsförmågan har utvecklats. I värsta fall medför en cyberattack konsekvenser som kan äventyra en organisations överlevnadsförmåga. I och med det nya hotet ransomware, där hotaktören krypterar offrets filer och sedan kräver en lösensumma, har konsekvenserna kraftigt kommit att bli mer fatala. Metoderna för ransomware utvecklas av hotaktörerna vilket kan bidra till mer än bara ekonomiska konsekvenser för organisationen. Mot ransomware gäller i stort samma skyddsåtgärder som mot alla former av cyberattacker, däremot finns en del särskilt viktiga aspekter som belyses i detta arbete, till exempel implementering av backups, adekvat dataskydd samt god Patch Management (d.v.s. protokoll för att åtgärda sårbarheter i programvara). I arbetet sammanställs en branschkonsensus för hur organisationer skall arbeta gentemot cyberattacker, specifikt ransomwareattacker. Detta har gjorts genom en litteratur- och kvalitativ intervjustudie, som sedan har analyserats och diskuterats. Intervjustudien har genomförts hos organisationer som bedöms lämpliga för detta då de dagligen arbetar med cybersäkerhet. En av rekommendationerna är att ha en bra backuprutin, där man skapar, distribuerar och testar dessa. Genom arbetet belyses även hur god patch management bör implementeras. Slutligen presenteras även en ny metod, Ransomware 3.0 där hotaktörer stjäl en organisations IT-miljö för att sedan radera denna lokalt hos organisationen och sedan säljer tillbaka denna, som används av hotaktörerna, som hittills varit okänd, där vidare forskning bör vidtas. / Cybersecurity is a constantly growing threat against organisations due to the increasingly digitalisation of society, although there are signs that the consciousness at organisations has increased regarding cyberattacks and cybersecurity. Cyberattacks can create consequences that can restrain an organisations operations. This creates the foundation for this study, to see how the defence capabilities has developed. A cyberattack can, in the worst case scenario, threaten an organisations ability to survive. In regards to the new threat, ransomware, where the threat actor encrypts the victim’s files and demands a ransom, the consequences can be fatal. The new methods associated with ransomware, where the threat actor also exfiltrates the victim’s files, strongly impact the organisations ability to operate. This could lead to economic consequences, as well as damages towards stakeholder relations. Most protective measures applies towards ransomware, however there are some especially important aspects that are presented in this paper, such as implementation of backups, sufficient data protection as well as good Patch Management (protocol to patch vulnerabilities in software). In this paper, an industry consensus on how organisations should work against cyberattacks, especially ransomware, is compiled. This was performed through a litterature and a qualitative interview study. Both studies has been analysed and discussed.The interview study has been accomplished by interviewing appropriate organisations that work with cyber security daily. One of the recommendations is to have a good backup protocol, which implies creating, distributing and testing these backups. This paper also presents how a good patch management should be implemented. Finally, this paper presents a new method, Ransomware 3.0 where the threat actor steals an organisations IT environment, and then destroys the local copy at the organisation to then sell it back, that is used by the threat actors, that is still uncommon knowledge, where continued research have to be conducted.

<p>Technological advances have a profound impact on people and the world in which they live. People use a wide range of smart devices, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), smartphones, and wearable devices, on a regular basis, all of which store and use location data. With this explosion of technology, these devices have been playing an essential role in digital forensics and crime investigations. Digital forensic professionals have become more able to acquire and assess various types of data and locations; therefore, location data has become essential for responders, practitioners, and digital investigators dealing with digital forensic cases that rely heavily on digital devices that collect data about their users. It is very beneficial and critical when performing any digital/cyber forensic investigation to consider answering the six Ws questions (i.e., who, what, when, where, why, and how) by using location data recovered from digital devices, such as where the suspect was at the time of the crime or the deviant act. Therefore, they could convict a suspect or help prove their innocence. However, many digital forensic standards, guidelines, tools, and even the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cyber Security Personnel Framework (NICE) lack full coverage of what location data can be, how to use such data effectively, and how to perform spatial analysis. Although current digital forensic frameworks recognize the importance of location data, only a limited number of data sources (e.g., GPS) are considered sources of location in these digital forensic frameworks. Moreover, most digital forensic frameworks and tools have yet to introduce geo-contextualization techniques and spatial analysis into the digital forensic process, which may aid digital forensic investigations and provide more information for decision-making. As a result, significant gaps in the digital forensics community are still influenced by a lack of understanding of how to properly curate geodata. Therefore, this research was conducted to develop a transdisciplinary framework to deal with the limitations of previous work and explore opportunities to deal with geodata recovered from digital evidence by improving the way of maintaining geodata and getting the best value from them using an iPhone case study. The findings of this study demonstrated the potential value of geodata in digital disciplinary investigations when using the created transdisciplinary framework. Moreover, the findings discuss the implications for digital spatial analytical techniques and multi-intelligence domains, including location intelligence and open-source intelligence, that aid investigators and generate an exceptional understanding of device users' spatial, temporal, and spatial-temporal patterns.</p>