Hackers Hiding in Plain Sight: What LOTS Attacks Mean for Your Business

Are You Looking in the Wrong Place for Cyber Threats?

It used to be easy to spot a cyberattack: flashing warnings, mysterious popups, or sudden system slowdowns. But today, more and more attacks quietly exploit the very applications and platforms you trust—like Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft Teams, and Slack. This new tactic, known as Living Off Trusted Sites (LOTS), hides malicious activity in plain sight, making it especially dangerous for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that rely on these tools every day.

Why does this matter? Because attackers are no longer “breaking in”—they’re blending in. According to the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, over 80% of breaches now involve stolen or misused credentials, often leveraging business-critical cloud and SaaS platforms (Verizon DBIR, 2024).

LOTS Attacks: The New Normal

Cybercriminals are leveraging your business’s trusted cloud apps to distribute malware, exfiltrate data, and quietly steal credentials. Instead of triggering alarms, they use existing permissions and familiar workflows to avoid detection. For SMBs, this means your most-used productivity tools could be an attacker’s entry point—and you might never know until it’s too late.

Key Takeaways: Steps You Can Take Within 30 Days

1. Audit Third-Party App Connections. Review permissions and integrations for all major SaaS platforms (like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365) your business relies on. Remove unnecessary or suspicious third-party access.
2. Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Make MFA non-negotiable for all critical cloud accounts. This single step can drastically reduce the risk of account takeovers and, by extension, LOTS attacks.
3. Monitor Employee Activity for Anomalies. Use advanced threat protection tools (such as those offered by BoltWork Device Threat Protection) to detect unusual data sharing or file access in trusted apps.
4. Deliver Targeted Security Awareness Training. Ensure your team knows that not all threats come from strangers—malicious links or files delivered via Slack or Google Drive are increasingly common. BoltWork clients have access to cost-effective employee training sessions built for SMBs.
5. Partner With a Security-First IT MSP. Most SMBs don’t have the bandwidth for round-the-clock security monitoring. An MSP like BoltWork can help you secure, simplify, and reduce costs while protecting against evolving threats like LOTS attacks. Book a 15-min security discovery call today—no pressure, just clear answers.

LOTS vs. Traditional Attacks: Why SMBs Are Prime Targets

LOTS attacks slip right through many traditional defenses. Why? Because firewalls and basic antivirus solutions aren’t designed to spot abnormal activities inside “trusted” platforms. SMBs often have fewer resources for dedicated monitoring, putting them at extra risk. Meanwhile, modern attackers are increasingly leveraging automation and AI to exploit overlooked permissions or legacy app connections.

Note: LOTS threats often start with a compromised user account—sometimes through phishing, sometimes through old, forgotten app links. Regularly reviewing and updating access controls is now mission-critical.

Securing, Simplifying, and Reducing Cost—With BoltWork on Your Side

Staying ahead of LOTS attacks doesn’t mean making your technology stack more complicated or expensive. In fact, simplifying permissions, consolidating vendors, and using managed security services can reduce your total IT spend and decrease your risk of costly breaches.

• Secure: Automated threat protection and MFA for cloud platforms block most intrusions before they start.
• Simplify: Unified monitoring tools and regular app access reviews reduce operational headaches.
• Reduce Costs: Proactive security minimizes incident downtime, legal exposure, and recovery costs. According to IBM, the average cost of a breach for small businesses now exceeds $2.9 million (IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report, 2023).

Start with practical, expert support. If you’re unsure whether your business is exposed to LOTS attacks—or want help setting up layered defenses—book a 15-minute security consultation with our team. It’s simple, free, and designed to give you actionable tips, whether you work with BoltWork or not.

Protect Your Business from LOTS Attacks Today

Don’t let attackers exploit the tools you depend on to run your business. As LOTS attacks grow in volume and sophistication, continuous vigilance is the new baseline for cybersecurity. With BoltWork’s full suite of Identity Threat Protection and IT Support Services, you’ll have the peace of mind and clarity to focus on running your business—not fighting invisible threats.

Book a 15-minute security consult now to secure, simplify, and reduce costs.

References

• Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 2024
• IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report, 2023