With 2021 fast approaching end-of-life status in many cybersecurity professionals’ minds, many are looking to what 2022 will bring. Predicting the future is always a thankless task but it helps to see what the current trends within the cybersecurity sector are and whether they will continue into next year and beyond.
Ransomware
One such current trend that is likely to extend into next year is the continued popularity of ransomware being deployed by advanced financially motivated threat groups. The current Ransomware-as-a-Service models, which mimic the legitimate Software-as-a-Service business model, will be further adopted. It has proven a successful strategy in that malware developers can “hire” affiliates who compromise the network and enable the encryption of the victim’s data, all for a split of the profits.
While many experts focus on the improvements to technology to help combat cyber threats, ransomware has remained only one of the biggest threats to business and will continue to do so. The good news is that governments around the globe are empowering law enforcement to help deal with the scourge alongside security firms. However, potential profit margins are still very enticing for malware developers to continue developing and improving ransomware strains.
The Human Factor
The weakest chain in your defense was and still is the humans within the organization’s security perimeter. Whether its failure to download and install critical security updates, falling victim to phishing scams, or insider threats it is believed that nearly 90% of cyber attacks are a result of some kind of human error.
The only proven defense against human error is often the one that receives the least amount of attention, that being employee education. The solution to identify security threats and gaps in companies’ IT environments is often screamed from mountain tops by cybersecurity consulting firms but ignored in favor of technology trends. Given that hackers know that the human factor can be readily exploited it is often the first thing they will target in order to compromise a network.
Old Attack Patterns on New Targets
Given that the human factor is so readily exploited by threat actors, the need to develop new tricks is not necessary when old ones still work better than expected. In 2022 it is predicted that many of what we consider to be old attacks will still work just as well despite technology improvements.
Take the recent T-Mobile data breach that occurred in August 2021. The hacker responsible was able to steal customer information by exploiting improperly configured routers. The exploitation of incorrectly configured routers has been considered a major vulnerability in an organization’s defensive perimeter for years now. The attacker managed to steal millions of files in the month of July to have them being sold on underground hacking forums nearly a month later. This was most certainly a PR nightmare for the company as well as being a major security concern affecting customers and their future trust.
Conclusion
While futurists will look to new technologies that will shape our future, for cybersecurity many of what is will still be in the years to come. While some will look to AI, machine learning, and automation to solve security challenges, key weaknesses like the human factor are ignored.
