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Recent high-profile cyberattacks have catapulted cyber security into enterprises’ biggest concern in 2022, even more than supply chain disruption or the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a Beta News tech report, cybercriminals can penetrate 93% of company networks. This alarming statistic has companies reeling on how to protect their networks from the latest cyber security threats.

We’ll examine the top five cyber security threats for 2022 and offer some strategies to fortify against these types of attacks. By taking a proactive stance toward cyber threats, you reduce your risk and mitigate these more common types of attacks.

Top 5 Emerging Cyber Security Threats for 2022

Corporate cyber attacks increased by 50% in 2021, but it wasn’t just large enterprises. Many small to medium-sized companies also saw an increase in attacks because of their lack of security expertise and resources. Regardless of your business’s size, your security team needs to be vigilant against these growing cyber security threats:

1. Denial of Service

A Denial of Service (DoS) cyber attack floods a node or network so that it can’t respond. A more complex DoS is a distributed DoS (DDoS) that utilizes a computer network to initiate an attack. These attacks overwhelm the system and make it difficult to trace, allowing the hacker to launch other malware attacks within the targeted network.

The best way to fortify against a DoS or DDoS is to be proactive:

Fortify your architecture as much as possible by geographically dispersing servers and assets so that they aren’t in the same location, network, or data center.
Set up hardware specifically designed to deter or protect against DoS and keep it updated on system upgrades and patches.
Scale your network bandwidth to absorb the larger traffic associated with an attack.
Outsource to third parties that have a scaling infrastructure that has cloud scrubbing services and can remove DoS traffic as soon as it is detected.

2. Internet of Things (IoT)

As more devices and things become smarter and connected to business networks, they will become more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Because the technology is still in its infancy, IoTs create more exposed entry points for hackers to exploit through weak security measures. GovTech predicts that we will see tons of high-profile IoT breaches in the headlines in 2022.

How to Fortify Your IoT:

Use high-level encryption. Zero trust end-to-end encryption is an intelligent model.
Use unique credentials for every IoT device.
Create a separate WiFi network for your IoT to safeguard the mainnet.
Disable features you are using to block as many entry points as possible.
Update your IoT operating systems as soon as possible.
Enable multi-factor authentication.
Utilize next-generation firewalls (NGFW) for additional security.

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3. External Remote Services

As more employees work remotely, it opens the door for hackers to attack remote access services. If not properly secured, they can compromise a VPN, steal RDP credentials, target Virtual Network Computing (VNC), and enter through your mobile device. The hackers use credential pharming to infiltrate the enterprise’s infrastructure. These types of attacks will really accelerate in 2022.

To fortify your external remote services:

Enforce group policies for specific allowed and blocked applications.
Disable setting tabs in Internet search engines.
Disable mounting local drives for remote connections.
Restrict access to local drives on a remote device.
Remove admin privileges.

4. Evolving Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks account for 36% of all network breaches. But the phishing landscape is evolving. While these attacks still primarily happen through email, hackers target their phishing campaigns to reflect current news events to spark better click-through.

To fortify against phishing attacks:

Set email filters. It seems basic, but it is effective.
Set your email server settings to utilize all email security protocols.
Most importantly: Stay informed on new phishing schemes and educate your employees on these new attacks.

5. Ransomware

Ransomware is not a new cyber threat, but it is effective—making it the preferred method of attack in 2021. Utilizing 120 different types of malware, hackers can extract sensitive data and hold it hostage until the business pays in cryptocurrency. They are using higher-pressure tactics of escalating infection to ensure payment. Ransomware costs are expected to grow to $265 billion by 2031.

To fortify against ransomware:

Hackers look for soft targets with weak security measures, resulting in 37% of all organizations being hit by ransomware. To prepare for the next attack, businesses need to follow the White House’s five-point plan for bolstering security:

Regularly back up all data in a secure data center. 57% of companies prefer a cloud-based backup solution to recover data.
Patch and update all systems and software swiftly.
Test and simulate an incident response plan to identify weaknesses.
Use third-party security tests to validate your security system’s strength.
Segment your network to minimize operation disruption.

VPNs are essential for network security.

Conclusion

To combat these trending cyber security threats, global business spending on cybersecurity will reach $1.75 trillion cumulatively from 2021 to 2025. To avoid being part of the breach statistic, security experts need to think like hackers and develop strategies to deter attacks.

You can protect your network from cyber attack by following the strategies we’ve mentioned coupled with an emphasis on data privacy, sovereignty, and compliance. We Bridge is a turn-key SaaS solution for helping cloud-centric enterprises fortify their data privacy from cyber-attack through robust assessment, monitoring, and remediation. Our platform employs zero trust encryption and secure data backup for optimal security.

Need third-party security for your network and critical data? Learn more about our data privacy risk platform.

Though Virtual Private Networking (VPN) has been used for many years by businesses to keep proprietary information and sensitive communications secure, it’s more used in 2021 than ever before with the new-age of remote work.

Once the de facto standard solution for allowing end-users to access internal network resources from remote locations securely, they can no longer keep up with modern security needs. Gartner predicts that by 2023, 60% of enterprises will phase out VPNs in favor of Zero Trust Network Access. Driving this change is the rise of internal threats and the fact that 37% of all breaches are credential theft.

Organizations need to take control of what resources are accessible via remote access. An essential part of doing this is to narrow the scope of access to the least privileges. Applying least privilege is a double win because it reduces the attack surface and meets compliance mandates like HIPAA, PCI, and SoX. Then even if attackers do happen to get in, the overall

In this article we take a look at the weaknesses of a VPN and why companies should switch to a Zero Trust model of security.

The Problem With VPN

With an increasingly global market and widespread remote work still being the norm, more traffic than ever is going over VPN. This added traffic makes it harder to detect malicious actions of bad actors. Attackers use credential stuffing and stolen credentials to access internal networks because the controls are often weaker once they’ve gotten inside the secure perimeter.

A VPN provides only basic protection for an organization. It allows access from a remote location while masking a user’s IP address by tunneling traffic through a 3rd party data center. This creates multiple points of failure:

Failure #1: VPN Data Center

When you connect to a VPN, all of your data goes through a 3rd party data center. VPN providers claim they do not keep user logs or data, however there are little to no laws or regulations in place to protect your data.

Failure #2: One key to access everything

Once you log into a VPN, you can access everything. It assumes everything inside the network is secure and everyone accessing it should have the same level of access as if they were physically in an office building. If a hacker gains credentials to the network, there’s no additional protection for your data once they are inside the network.

Failure #3: Assuming hackers aren’t inside your organization

We’d like to assume our employees aren’t out to harm us – but it’s not safe to assume. When using a VPN, there is no way to limit access. Your data may be at risk even inside your organization and your network should be completely secure and monitored.

What is Zero Trust?

A Zero Trust Network does exactly what its name suggests – never trust. Instead of one authentication method to access everything, zero trust offers multiple authentication requirements for every operating system no matter where the request comes from.

Let’s look at the problems with VPN listed above, and how a Zero Trust Network solves those problems.

Failure #1: VPN Data Center – no data center used here. All data is authenticated, authorized and encrypted without the use of a 3rd party data center.

Failure #2: One key to access everything – even if a hacker gains access to a network they will not have access to other data without further authorization. Everything is also constantly monitored for potential breaches.

Failure #3: Assuming hackers aren’t inside your organization – users can be assigned different levels of access. A CFO and an account executive don’t need the same level of access to your organization’s data.

Ananda Networks – The Best Zero Trust Network

There are many Zero Trust Network providers – the majority of which will come with additional hardware, hidden fees, no integration capabilities and complex deployment processes. That’s where Ananda Networks is different.

Unlike other solutions, Ananda is 100% software based. There’s no additional hardware you need to purchase, and no complicated setup. This keeps your overhead low and lets you transition from your VPN in just 15 minutes.

Integration with your SaaS applications and identity provider is easier than ever using SAML and cloud connectors to set up a direct connection. This makes it even easier to deploy a zero trust network.

Ananda also uses machine learning to bypass cloud protocols and offer bandwidth optimization by continuously searching for the fastest connection route. No bandwidth or protocol limitations means up to 25x faster than what you’re experiencing with a VPN.

If you’d like to learn more about what Ananda Networks can do for you, click here to schedule a demo with us today.

Category: Network

Top 5 Cyber Security Threats of 2022