Of all the worries that a business owner has, suffering a ransomware attack or a data breach is at the top of the list. One of these attacks can take a company down for days and it can be difficult to come back from. 

The threat landscape continues to get more dangerous. With the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (the same tools that software manufacturers use to enable new features), criminal groups can easily ramp up attack volume. In 2020, cyberattacks on businesses jumped by 50%.

To stay one step ahead of the bad guys, it’s important to continually upgrade your IT security infrastructure to match new threats. This means being aware of new tactics being used by cybercriminals and the different vulnerable areas being targeted that weren’t before. 

To help you plan ahead for your 2022 network security upgrades, we’ve taken a look at what experts are predicting in the cybersecurity area for this year. Here are some of the biggest predictions you need to be aware of.

Supply Chain Attacks Will Become More Prevalent

In 2021, there were two prominent ransomware attacks that impacted the supply chain. One of these was on Colonial Pipeline, which shut down the flow of petroleum products throughout the east coast for nearly a week, raising gas prices across the nation.

The second hit the world’s largest pork and beef producer, JBS. This attack caused factories in at least three different countries to be shut down for days.

Experts are predicting that we’ll see more supply chain attacks this year, as hackers seek to cause widespread disruption at the same time as collecting millions in ransom.

Both Colonial Pipeline and JBS paid their attackers (4.4 million and 11 million respectively) because they felt the pressure of needing to get operations and the supply chain back up and running as fast as possible.

Cybersecurity Insurance Will Go Through a Major Transition

The end of 2021 saw some rumblings in the cybersecurity insurance industry. As attacks get more costly, insurance companies are starting to realize they need to change their models for cyber liability insurance if they want to make it a profitable enterprise.

Changes that began happening and that are predicted to spread throughout the industry in 2022 include:

• No longer covering the ransom paid in ransomware attacks
• No longer covering attacks by nation-states (Lloyd’s of London just dropped this from its policies)
• Policy premiums going significantly higher
• Cybersecurity insurance requirements will be more stringent  

Ransomware Will Remain a Big Threat

Ransomware has been growing in remediation cost and volume over the last few years and this is expected to continue. With more than half of the victims paying the ransom, it has become quite lucrative for hackers to put most of their time and attention on this kind of attack that cripples businesses by encrypting their data. 

Another driver of ransomware has been the launch of ransomware as a service (RaaS). This was introduced by large criminal groups as a way to make even more money off ransomware. They package all the code and other elements needed to launch an attack and sell subscriptions to the service.

Companies that don’t have a full backup of their data that is also easily recoverable are most at risk.

Phishing by Text Message Will Become Commonplace

Does it seem like you get more text messages from retailers these days than just a year ago? You aren’t alone. Text messages are beginning to replace emails, with retailers pushing people to sign up for text sale notices and shipping updates.

This shift from email to SMS is not lost on phishing attackers, and they are beginning to use text message-based phishing more often. You can expect this to continue and grow in 2022.

Phishing via SMS (also known as smishing) is very dangerous for a few reasons:

• Most people are not yet expecting phishing via SMS
• Text messages use shortened URLs, so it’s hard to see where you’re being taken to
• It’s easy for a person to mistake a fake impersonated shipment notice (or other SMS) for a real one
• It’s not as easy to identify a fake sender because people don’t know what phone number companies will be texting from   

We Will See More Attacks by Nation-States

Just as cybersecurity insurance carriers like Lloyd’s of London are starting to drop coverage for attacks by nation-states, those attacks are predicted to become more prevalent. It’s almost as if they had a crystal ball!

It’s predicted that we will see more nation-sponsored attacks this year. And these attacks don’t only target governments. They often are widespread and impact businesses of all sizes. One of the most famous attacks by a state-sponsored hacking group was the WannaCry ransomware attack of a few years back.

Is It Time for Your Next Cybersecurity Audit?

Don’t leave yourself unprotected from new threats. AhelioTech can help your Columbus area business with a cybersecurity audit to identify any potential weaknesses and address them with an affordable solution.

Contact us today for a free quote. Call 614-333-0000 or reach out online.