Organizations are looking for new ways to protect their ever-expanding attack surface and remain secure. A study by Trend Micro shows that security professionals are facing record numbers of cyber threats and excessive workloads.
A new study by security manufacturer Trend Micro, one of the world's leading providers of cybersecurity solutions, warns of the increasing threat to digital infrastructures and employees working from home, as threat actors increase their rate of attacks on companies and individuals.
Security: Ransomware attacks target KRITIS
Ransomware attackers are shifting their focus to critical infrastructure and industries that face high pressure to pay. Double-extortion tactics ensure that they can benefit from this. The most affected branches of industry in Germany include the real estate sector, state authorities, healthcare, the media and communications sector and the manufacturing sector. Ransomware-as-a-Service offerings have also opened up the market for attackers with little technical knowledge - and at the same time led to greater specialization. Access brokers are now an integral part of the cybercrime supply chain.
Threat actors are getting better at exploiting human vulnerabilities to compromise cloud infrastructure and remote working. In 2021, Trend Micro Cloud App Security (CAS) detected and prevented 25,7 million email-borne threats, up from 16,7 million the year before. The extent of blocked phishing attempts has almost doubled in this period. Studies show that remote workers are more likely to take risks than on-site employees, making phishing attacks more dangerous.
Cloud misconfigurations are a threat
Misconfigured systems continue to pose a major threat to companies in the cloud. Services such as Amazon Elastic Block Store and Microsoft Azure's Virtual Machine, among others, have relatively high misconfiguration rates. Trend Micro also notes that Docker REST APIs are often misconfigured. This leaves them vulnerable to attacks from groups like TeamTNT (1) who deploy crypto-mining malware on affected systems.
The number of detections for Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks fell by 11 percent. However, CAS blocked a high percentage of advanced BEC emails, which could only be detected by comparing the attacker's writing style with that of the intended sender. These attacks accounted for 2021 percent of all BEC attempts in 47, compared to 23 percent in 2020.
2021 a record year for new vulnerabilities
While 2021 was a record year for new security vulnerabilities, research from Trend Micro shows that 22 percent of exploits sold underground by cybercriminals in 2021 were more than three years old. Patching old vulnerabilities therefore remains an important task alongside monitoring new threats to prevent cyberattacks and ensure comprehensive security.
"Attackers are constantly working to increase the number of victims and their profits, whether through the number or the effectiveness of their attacks," said Richard Werner, business consultant at Trend Micro. “The breadth and depth of our global threat intelligence allows us to identify shifts in how cybercriminals target their victims around the world. Our current research shows, on the one hand, that the total number of threats detected by Trend Micro increased by 2021 percent to over 42 billion in 94 compared to the previous year. At the same time, the number of attacks fell in some areas because attacks are becoming more and more targeted.”
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About Trend Micro As one of the world's leading providers of IT security, Trend Micro helps create a secure world for digital data exchange. With over 30 years of security expertise, global threat research, and constant innovation, Trend Micro offers protection for businesses, government agencies, and consumers. Thanks to our XGen™ security strategy, our solutions benefit from a cross-generational combination of defense techniques optimized for leading-edge environments. Networked threat information enables better and faster protection. Optimized for cloud workloads, endpoints, email, the IIoT and networks, our connected solutions provide centralized visibility across the entire enterprise for faster threat detection and response.