Today is world-wide Safer Internet Day. A day when the world comes together with one shared vision: Making digital experiences better and safer for everyone!
On this occasion, QuoIntelligence presents you with a compilation of Top 3 Digital Threats organizations and their leaders should be aware of this year. We have gathered and consolidated information from our recent investigations and articles in a handy infographic for you. Enjoy this quick overview or dive deeper into the topics that interest you most by clicking on the provided links.
1. Supply Chain Cyberattacks on the Rise
Supply chain attacks are subtle to infiltrate and hard to detect. The recent SolarWinds cyberattack affected around 18,000 entities. The scale and advanced nature of this attack and its corresponding fallout have placed supply chain attacks in the spotlight.
Therefore, QuoIntelligence expects supply chain attacks to increase in 2021. They allow attackers to deploy the same malware on different networks, increasing the attack surface.
In addition, digital footprints are expanding with the increased reliance on remote work and third-party vendors.
Governments are recognizing this growing threat as well. Both, the US and the EU are creating regulatory frameworks to strengthen the security and resilience of their supply chains.
2. Advanced Persistent Threat Groups and Espionage Campaigns
In the previous year, QuoIntelligence observed various industrial espionage campaigns.
For example, the Chinese espionage APT Winnti Group targeting German industrial organizations. The US, Germany, and the UK previously warned of industrial espionage by Chinese APT groups.
QuoIntelligence expects to see continued corporate espionage campaigns by Advanced Persistent Threat groups in 2021. The changing and uncertain geopolitical landscape and the COVID-19 pandemic will likely further encourage state-sponsored cybergroups to conduct campaigns.
3. Ransomware and Phishing Lures Taking Advantage of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic will continue shaping the cyber threat landscape in 2021.
Opportunistic cyber actors will likely evolve their TTPs to ensure their victims are pressured into paying ransoms.
QuoIntelligence expects an increase in those campaigns. We recorded a spike in the number of reported ransomware and extortion campaigns with increasing ransom demands. In December, we observed the highest demand thus far peaking at EUR 30 Million.
Guard Your Assets and Educate Your Employees
How can you prevent and prepare for those threats? Our cybersecurity experts will tell you one thing repeatedly: Educate your employees!
No matter how much your organization spends on securing IT infrastructure, in the end, it all comes down to one thing: the cyber awareness of your employees.
COVID-19 forcing millions of people to work from home takes the topic to a whole different level. Employees need to be even more aware of their responsibilities towards security protocols, password protection, and basic cyber-attack threats like phishing e-mails that can hit any time.
More on COVID-19 and our recommended course of actions for CIO/CISOs here.
Of course, a targeted cyberattack can still come your way. New threat actors appear nearly daily, working on more sophisticated, malicious attack schemes, lures, and TTPs. Therefore, your most valuable assets need to be secured and heavily guarded at any time.
Whether you are a financial institution, a global manufacturer, or a governmental entity, our multi-disciplined team of cybersecurity experts and threat intelligence analysts will help you reach the next level on the security maturity scale.
