Cybercriminals continue to abuse the pandemic, increasingly using emerging technologies such as cryptocurrency, deepfakes and mobile wallets. Check Point Software’s 2022 Global cybersecurity predictions report details the 9 key security challenges that organizations will face over the next year.
The key findings from Check Point Software’s 2022 Global cybersecurity predictions report are:
- Fake news and misinformation campaigns return – In 2021, people gladly disseminated falsehoods about the epidemic and vaccine initiatives. Cybercriminals are still using this to transmit phishing mails and frauds in 2022.
- Supply chain cyber-attacks continue to increase – Governments will begin to adopt rules to handle supply chain threats and defend networks, as well as partner with the private sector and other nations to identify and target additional threat groups internationally.
- The cyber ‘cold war’ intensifies – Terrorist groups and political activists will be able to push their goals and carry out more sophisticated, wide-spread assaults thanks to improved infrastructure and technology capabilities. Cyberattacks will become more common as proxy conflicts to disrupt global operations.
- Data breaches are larger scale and more costly – Data breaches will occur more frequently and on a bigger scale, costing businesses and governments more money to recover from. In May 2021, a US insurance company paid a ransom of $40 million to hackers. This was a new high, and we can expect attackers’ ransom demands to rise in 2022.
- Cryptocurrency gains popularity with attackers – When money is simply software, the cyber security required to prevent hackers from stealing and manipulating bitcoins and altcoins will undoubtedly alter in unanticipated ways.
- Attackers target mobile – Cybercriminals will innovate and adapt their strategies to exploit the rising dependency on mobile devices as mobile wallets and mobile payment systems become more widely utilized.
- Attackers will leverage microservices’ vulnerabilities – As Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) embrace microservices architecture, attackers are exploiting vulnerabilities uncovered in them to mount large-scale assaults against CSPs.
- Deepfake technology is weaponized for attacks – Fake video and audio techniques have progressed to the point that they may now be weaponized and utilized to generate targeted material in order to manipulate public opinion, stock values, or worse. Deepfake social engineering assaults will be used by threat actors to get access to sensitive data and gain authorization.
- Penetration tools continue to grow – In 2021, ransomware will affect 1 out of every 61 enterprises globally every week. Ransomware assaults will grow more sophisticated in 2022, as threat actors continue to target corporations that can afford to pay the ransom. Penetration tools will be increasingly used by hackers to personalize assaults in real time and to live and operate within target networks.
“In 2021, cyber criminals adapted their attack strategy to exploit vaccination mandates, elections and the shift to hybrid working, to target organizations’ supply chains and networks to achieve maximum disruption,” said Maya Horowitz, Vice President Research at Check Point Software. “The sophistication and scale of cyberattacks will continue to break records and we can expect a huge increase in the number of ransomware and mobile attacks. Looking ahead, organizations should remain aware of the risks and ensure that they have the appropriate solutions in place to prevent, without disrupting the normal business flow, the majority of attacks including the most advanced ones. To stay ahead of threats, organizations must be proactive and leave no part of their attack surface unprotected or unmonitored, or they risk becoming the next victim of sophisticated, targeted attacks”
Click here For Check Point Software’s full 2022 Cybersecurity Predictions report, visit their website here.
