Like many other aspects of life and business, 2022 will bring fewer surprises in cybersecurity overall than in recent years. Instead, many of the trends that have emerged over the last few years have begun to take shape. , it is important to consider all.
What are the overall trends we see in 2022?
Ransomware continues to take center stage in 2022. The rate of breaches caused by ransomware increased 41% last year, taking him 49 days longer than the average breach to identify and contain. After arrests or major attacks, ransomware gangs continued to revive as new groups with the same key players. And ransomware gangs are getting even more profit and power by selling ransomware as a service.
On the positive side, Zero Trust has evolved from a new concept to a best practice. As hybrid work becomes a way of life, more organizations are beginning to adopt Zero Trust frameworks. This means that all users, apps, and devices requesting access are considered unauthorized until proven otherwise. Organizations that have implemented a Zero Trust approach have saved nearly $1 million in average breach costs compared to those that have not.
We spoke to leading experts to gain more insight into how 2022 trends are impacting the future of the industry. Here’s what they have to say.
Ransomware attacks are recovering, but not all
Cybercriminals seek out organizations and industries that are teetering on the edge and work to turn them upside down. Last year we saw that in manufacturing, a strained industry considered the backbone of supply chains. Ransomware attacks are expected to surge in 2023, as there is a clear possibility that a global recession is on the horizon. However, large organizations in regions heavily impacted during the ransomware boom will be best prepared for this wave after investing time and money in fighting back.
– Charles Henderson, Global Managing Partner, Head of IBM Security X-Force
Hacker Job Opportunities Soar Amid Global Recession
The cybercrime-as-a-service ecosystem could explode in the coming year as operators offer new tools that dramatically lower the barriers to entry for less experienced and less skilled cybercriminals. When the global economy faces a recession, hackers can emerge to make quick and easy money. Given geopolitical tensions and a harsh winter ahead, the biggest rise across Europe is expected.
– John Dwyer, Head of Research, IBM Security X-Force
Zero Trust Has 99 (Implementation) Problems
Now that it’s finally more than just a buzzword, security teams will accelerate their plans to adopt Zero Trust in 2023, but they’ll make a few mistakes along the way. Without a deep understanding of trust relationships, the implementation will fail. We’re already seeing security teams build “distrust” architectures instead of “distrust” architectures. This opens the door to security gaps that adversaries may exploit in 2023.
– Charles Henderson, Global Managing Partner, Head of IBM Security X-Force
Social engineers set their sights on ICS systems
ICS/SCADA systems are integral to the daily operations of industrial manufacturers. Due to their importance, these systems are the number one target for attackers. But while the tactics and techniques required for social engineering ICS systems are different from IT, the effects are even more damaging and potentially life-threatening. Social engineers have already begun to advance their techniques and tactics to gain more successful access to these vulnerable systems. We expect social engineering to accelerate and achieve even more success in the year ahead.
– Stephanie Carruthers, Chief People Hacker, IBM Security X-Force Red
Attackers evade new security technologies
Almost as fast as the cybersecurity industry releases new security tools, attackers are evolving techniques to evade them. This year is no exception. Cybercriminals are expected to target his MFA and EDR technology more specifically. With some attackers successfully bypassing phishing-resistant MFA last year and more organizations relying on it than ever before, the technology will grow to be the number one target next year. prize. Similarly, attackers have honed her EDR evasion techniques. Expect a surge in the number of her EDR evasion tools for sale on the dark web.
– John Dwyer, Head of Research, IBM Security X-Force
Specialists double back to generalists to secure the cloud in 2023
Recruiting the talent needed to secure the cloud will be a challenge for security leaders in 2023. One of her biggest hurdles stems from the large number of personnel required for a highly niche and specialized role. With so many businesses increasingly all-in on the cloud and the skills crisis getting worse year by year, the solution to the skills gap lies with cybersecurity generalists. of generalists and build internal teams by retraining specialists to generalists.
– John Hendley, Head of Strategy, IBM Security X-Force
As data is more distributed than ever, the concept of securing a “moat” is no longer a viable strategy. Too much surface area to cover. With more automated moat protection, defenders can spend more time detecting enemies early and responding more effectively.
– Evan Anderson, Principal Technologist, Randori
Credential Theft Continues to Increase
Cybercriminals will continue to leverage large caches of leaked/stolen credentials to wreak havoc. Many consumers and businesses are gradually moving to password managers, passwordless, and hardware ID tokens. However, a large portion of the population continues to reuse credentials or variations of credentials across environments, systems, or sites. Attacks against traditional second-factor authentication such as SMS will continue in the coming year, similar to attacks against push-based multi-factor authentication solutions. Phishing and other attacks aimed at obtaining authentication tokens will also increase.
– Dustin Heywood, Chief Architect, IBM Security X-Force
What else will 2023 bring?
Cyber predictions for 2023 have become clearer, but the current wildcard is a potential recession and how an uncertain economy will affect cybersecurity spending and attacker motivations. By early 2023, we should have some insight into where the economy might head. But no matter what the economy does, organizations that continue to prioritize cybersecurity will continue to mitigate the risk of business disruption and reputational damage from large-scale breaches.
