Only Layered Defenses Can Stop Hacker Attacks
Spikatel’s Security Operations Center stopped an attempted breach of an enterprise system carried out under the guise of a logistics company after a malicious file slipped past the email security filter.
Cybersecurity is now a priority for every company. As hackers continually refine their attack methods, relying on a single defensive layer, however reliable, is no longer enough. Organizations increasingly need more than security software alone: specialized security providers can step in when attacks become too sophisticated for frontline defenses.
Analysts Responded in Time
A case involving Spikatel illustrates the need for layered security. The company’s Security Operations Center (SOC) helped repel a cyberattack in which the attackers posed as a logistics operator. The SOC detected a malicious file after it had already passed through the email security filter. Analysts then alerted the professionals responsible for the organization’s cybersecurity, allowing them to prevent the attempted breach.
The attackers used a familiar playbook. From a legitimate corporate accounting email account that had previously been compromised, they sent “documents for signature” to accounting departments at companies doing business with the victim. Opening a file disguised as an invoice, contract or acceptance certificate triggered a script that downloaded a PNG file. That file, in turn, launched a malicious library. Had the attackers successfully deployed it inside the company, they could have gained a wide range of options for further activity – from covert espionage and theft of accounting databases to outright financial theft by swapping payment details during a transaction or secretly taking remote control of an account.
How Does It Work?
Security professionals say that although the attack followed a standard pattern, it showed signs of technically skilled operators. The clearest was payload obfuscation. The attachment does not contain the complete malicious code. Instead, it executes a downloader script that retrieves a PNG file from a remote server – but the file is not an image; it is a container. A DLL library is embedded in the pixel data and loaded directly into the memory of a system process without ever being written to disk.
The attack was also broad in scope and could have affected all of the logistics operator’s counterparties.
Phishing Campaigns Remain the Main Threat
Kaspersky researchers say the number of cyberattacks against Russian organizations rose 68% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. Attackers continued to target critical sectors, including Russian organizations in government, industry, finance, education and transportation. In transportation and industry alone, the number of incidents increased 24% in the first quarter of 2026.
Meanwhile, about 10% of the attacks targeted transportation and logistics companies specifically. The reason is relatively straightforward: these businesses interact closely with large numbers of customers, suppliers and contractors, so compromising one organization can create a path to attack others through established trusted relationships.
Trust as an Attack Vector
Phishing became one of attackers’ primary tools as early as 2023–2024, accounting for as much as 68% of all analyzed breach attempts. In 85% of cases, attackers tried to deliver malicious files disguised as documents sent on behalf of counterparties.
In 2025, Positive Technologies said the number of phishing attacks in 2024 had increased by one-third from the previous year and by 72% compared with 2022.
The Spikatel case shows that the trends security researchers have described are playing out in real-world attacks. Organizations therefore have a growing need for comprehensive data protection. Attackers exploit genuine corporate correspondence and trust between businesses, while conventional email filters may no longer be sufficient on their own. That is why SOCs are increasingly serving as a second defensive layer capable of catching more sophisticated attacks. The SOC-as-a-Service model is likely to become more widespread in the near term, allowing organizations to outsource 24/7 monitoring and incident investigation to specialized providers. The model could be particularly valuable for midsize companies and regional businesses.
