{"id":1394,"date":"2022-10-29T02:55:23","date_gmt":"2022-10-29T02:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thinmoo.net\/?p=1394"},"modified":"2022-10-29T02:55:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-29T02:55:25","slug":"7-hot-cybersecurity-trends-and-2-going-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thinmoo.net\/?p=1394","title":{"rendered":"7 hot cybersecurity trends (and 2 going cold)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Is that security trend hot or not? From tools and technologies to threats and tactics, the numbers don’t lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
As we enter the third year of the pandemic, it\u2019s not an exaggeration to say that COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our personal and professional lives. When it comes to trends in enterprise security, the pandemic has been a gamechanger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Millions of workers are now accessing corporate networks or cloud-based resources over residential Wi-Fi. IT workers are troubleshooting mission critical systems via remote access. Supply chains are cracking under the pressure. And the bad guys are wasting no time exploiting these potential vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the hot and not-so-hot security trends for 2022, a year in which, unfortunately, the scope and sophistication of attacks is only expected to get worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9 hot (and not) cybersecurity trends:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ransomware attacks\u00a0are on the rise and show no signs of slowing down, says Shira Rubinoff, cybersecurity executive, author and consultant. \u201cThese attacks have grown exponentially and will continue to rise \u2013 largely due to the pandemic, as we\u2019ve seen the massive amount of online growth and increased digital environments. The shift to work-at-home left organizations scrambling to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. Now, organizations have to deal with their employees multitasking both professionally and personally from multiple devices in an environment that may or may not be secure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rubinoff recommends that organization focus on implementing cyber-hygiene, including training and education for the entire organization to help mitigate phishing attacks. She adds that organizations should be proactive in securing data and should consider implementing a zero-trust security model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key numbers:<\/strong>\u00a0The threat of \u201cnew ransomware models\u201d is the top concern facing executives, according to Gartner\u2019s latest\u00a0Emerging Risks Monitor Report. Ransomware doubled in frequency in 2021, according to the\u00a0Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. Approximately 37% of global organizations said they were the victim of some form of ransomware attack in 2021, according to IDC’s\u00a02021 Ransomware Study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptojacking, ransomware\u2019s less flashy cousin, occurs when attackers use ransomware-style phishing attacks to breach an organization to mine cryptocurrency using the organization\u2019s compute resources. One advantage for the attacker is that they can remain undetected for a long time. Since no ransom was sought and no personally indentifiable information was stolen, companies don\u2019t have to disclose that were hacked. That makes it difficult to quantify the cost of the intrusion, since the damages are things like lost compute capabilities, slower performance and higher electric bills. However, as cryptocurrencies appreciate in value, there\u2019s more incentive for attackers to commit cryptojacking. The ultimate payout consists of a reward (in cryptocurrency) for being the first to validate a new block of transactions.[\u00a0Attend Virtual Summit on November 8 – CIO’s Future of Cloud Summit: Mastering Complexity & Digital Innovation \u2013 Register Today!\u00a0]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if organizations are as focused on it because it\u2019s less obtrusive than ransomware,\u201d says IDC analyst Frank Dickson. He points out that cryptojacking is a growing and serious security threat because, \u201cIt\u2019s essentially a backdoor into your organization\u201d that could be sold to others looking to launch ransomware or other types of attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key numbers:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Sonic Wall\u00a0reported a 21% increase in cryptojacking in Q3 2021, with a massive 461% spike across Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hot: Deepfakes become weaponized<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Deepfakes (think Photoshop on steroids) will become a hot security issue this year and beyond, says cybersecurity consultant Dr. Magda Chelly. Thus far, deepfakes have been seen primarily in the entertainment sphere, with doctored videos showing one actor\u2019s face morphing into another. Or, with politicians being spoofed on video saying things that they clearly never said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chelly predicts that attackers will weaponize deepfake technology to\u00a0compromise biometric access controls\u00a0by spoofing someone\u2019s face. The use of AI-based deepfakes has many other sinister possibilities in the enterprise realm. There has already been a case in which fraudsters spoofed the voice of a CEO and tricked a subordinate to transfer a large amount of money to a fake account. Beyond fraud, an attacker could create a video in which a CEO or other business executive is shown doing something embarrassing or illegal and use the deepfake for blackmail purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key numbers:<\/strong> “Based on the hacker chatter that we track on the dark web, we\u2019ve seen traffic around deepfake attacks increase by 43% since 2019,\u201d says Alon Arvatz, senior director of product management at IntSights, a Rapid7 Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hot: Attacks against conferencing software<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With the pandemic showing no signs of slowing down, many employees are remaining at home, communicating with colleagues over\u00a0teleconferencing and videoconferencing software. James Globe, vice president of operations at the Center for Internet Security (CIS), says attacks against those services will continue to be a concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He says organizations need to adopt formal corporate policies and procedures for staffers to follow to combat threat actors trying to piggyback on a session to eavesdrop on conversations and to view presentations that might contain sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Globe recommends that organizations take steps like scrubbing invitation lists, password-protecting video conferences, sending out passwords in a separate communication from the meeting invitation, having the moderator manually admit participants, and locking the meeting once it starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key numbers:<\/strong>\u00a0More than 30% of companies reported an attack of their videoconferencing systems during 2021, according to the\u00a0Acronis Cyber Readiness Report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Cold: VPNs are fading away<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The pandemic put the spotlight on secure remote access for work-at-home employees, exposing the\u00a0flaws of the traditional VPN. It\u2019s not all that secure, it\u2019s complex to manage, doesn\u2019t provide a good user experience, and it\u2019s part of the old-school perimeter model of security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that we\u2019re throwing away VPNs,\u201d says Dickson, \u201cbut when we look at ways to secure remote workers, VPNs are not something we want. We\u2019d rather do a zero-trust remote access solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
VPNs provide a secure tunnel between the remote user and enterprise resources, but VPN technology can\u2019t tell if the connecting device is already infected or if someone is using stolen credentials; it doesn\u2019t provide application layer security, and it can\u2019t provide role-based access control once a user connects to the network. Zero trust addresses all those issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key numbers<\/strong>: Gartner predicts that by 2023, 60% of enterprises will phase out their remote access VPN in favor of zero trust network access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hot: Attacks against IoT and OT<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chelly says attacks against internet of things (IoT) and operational technology (OT) infrastructure will heat up in 2022 across a variety of targets including critical infrastructure, traditional manufacturing facilities, even smart home networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attackers will target industrial sensors to cause physical damage that could result in assembly lines shutting down or services being interrupted, Chelly says. The pandemic has increased the prevalence of employees managing these systems via remote access, which provides \u201ca very good entry point for cybercriminals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chelly predicts attackers will also conduct ransomware-type attacks that lock up a homeowner\u2019s smart door lock or smart thermostat. In this scenario, the attacker is probably targeting the vendor that supplies the smart home technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key numbers:<\/strong>\u00a0According to one\u00a0experiment\u00a0in which testers set up a home network and monitored it for attacks, there were more than 12,000 hacking attempts in a single week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hot: Supply chain attacks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link and that\u2019s how hackers are going after high-value targets. The most infamous hack in recent times was the SolarWinds attack, a supply chain attack in which hackers leveraged a flaw in network monitoring software from SolarWinds to breach hundreds of companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Globe says\u00a0supply chain attacks\u00a0will remain a hot topic. He recommends that organizations pay special attention to third parties, partners, contractors, managed service providers and cloud service providers. Insist that these entities demonstrate that their security practices are sound and make sure to constantly verify that these organizations are adhering to their security policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key numbers:<\/strong> Forrester data reveals that 55% of security professionals reported their organization experienced an incident or breach involving supply chain or third-party providers in the past 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Hot: Extended detection and response (XDR)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Extended detection and response (XDR) is a relatively new approach to threat detection and response that attempts to break down security siloes and provide a cloud-based service that encompasses multiple security-related data streams. XDR takes advantage of the power of cloud-based big data analytics to make sense of data from endpoint protection agents, email security, identity and access management, network management, cloud security, threat intelligence, threat hunting, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dickson says XDR is less about a specific product than it is about building a platform that can integrate the capabilities of multiple security tools to analyze a potential security threat in context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key numbers<\/strong>: According to Gartner, up to 40% of end-user organizations will use CDR by year-end 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cold: Passwords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s been a longstanding truism that passwords are a weak form of security, but the industry has been slow to adopt alternatives \u2013 until now. Between the FIDO Alliance, Microsoft Hello and strong pushes by industry heavyweights like Apple and Google, momentum is growing for\u00a0passwordless authentication\u00a0based on biometrics (fingerprints or facial recognition).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dickson recommends that organizations \u201celiminate passwords whenever possible.\u201d He adds that fully passwordless solutions are preferable to two-factor authentication schemes that rely on passwords for one of the factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"EU-US](\"https:\/\/www.thinmoo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/data.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"cybersecurity](\"https:\/\/www.thinmoo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cybersecurity-trends.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thinmoo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/EU-US-data-sharing-agreement.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thinmoo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/security.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n