industryopinion
The cybersecurity trends shaping 2022
Michael Barrett, UK Country Manager at X-PHY, a Flexxon brand investigates the cybersecurity trends that will drive opportunity for AI-augmented SSDs.
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fter another record year for cyber-attacks in 2021, including high-profile breaches such as the Colonial Pipeline and JBS, it’s clear cyber threats are growing and will continue to do so.
In fact, ransomware attacks in the UK doubled and, globally, the cost of a data breach rose from around £2.92 million to £3.35 million, the highest average total cost in the history of this report. Cybercrime is an ever-evolving phenomenon and hackers are great
at adopting new tactics and adapting to current environments. With so many things happening, it can be tricky to identify particular trends that resellers and customers need to focus on in 2022. So, here are three. 1. Protection at the firmware level Cybersecurity risks are continuously increasing in frequency and sophistication. Despite businesses slowly beginning to see the light – C-level executives at a large number of organisations (77%) consider cyber security as a high priority and spending is increasing – there remains a large gap for channel partners and their customers: protection at the firmware level. Organisations typically prioritise software defence over firmware
– in part because it’s what was invented first – but this makes them a prime target for firmware attacks. Channel partners need to educate customers about the fact that software and anti-virus security alone is no longer enough. They require too much human intervention, like computer restarts and disallowing threats. What’s needed is security at the firmware level that is placed closest to precious data, so it is able to react at a record speed without compromising computer performance. The good news is, incredible advancements in technology mean it’s
now possible to upgrade firmware with AI-infused SSD embedded into laptops. An AI-augmented SSD, with a zero-trust framework, allows for real-time data protection against a multitude of software- based malware, ransomware and viruses, meaning firmware and all data is protected – and without human input.
2. Ransomware gangs aren’t going anywhere The cost and risk of executing ransomware attacks is increasing, making it harder for cyber criminals to carry them out. Despite this, it’s unlikely to lead to a decline in the number of overall attacks or reduce the cost of cyber-attacks globally. Ransomware gangs will simply change tactics, whether that be upping the cost of demands for less high-profile victims, developing new hacking techniques like Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) or reinventing their brand to avoid detection. We will continue to see the disappearance and re-emergence of notorious ransomware gangs as they ‘shut down’ and emerge under
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a different guise. The pattern shown in movements by REvil and Darkside suggests that despite reports of gang shutdowns, this tends to be a tactical move to avoid detection and continue to disrupt. In 2021, the formidable ransomware-as-a-service gang, BlackMatter
announced an end to its operations due to pressure from local law enforcement. The group attacked multiple US critical infrastructure entities such as New Cooperative and Crystal Valley in 2021, demanding payments from £60,000 to £11,000,000. Whilst this is good news, it doesn’t mean we’ve seen the end of them – and they could well undergo a re-brand anytime soon. We can expect more gangs to emerge in the near future, if they haven’t already. Therefore, it is vital that channel organisations, businesses and
individuals ensure their cybersecurity defences are of the highest calibre. What’s needed are solutions that protect against every type of attack and are especially vigilant against ransomware and even the RaaS model, which allows people to use pre-developed ransomware tools to execute attacks.
3. Supply chain attacks are on the up In February, a Conti ransomware attack on KP snacks led to a disruption of its IT systems leading to supply chain problems. The aftermath of the attack is still ongoing, with KP Snacks telling its stores that ordering processes were affected and that supply chain problems were expected to last for months more. Experts believe that we’ll continue to see an increased risk of supply
chain attacks, similar to KP snacks, because cybersecurity along supply chains tends to be inconsistent. The high financial reward means hackers target weak points of supply chains in order to breach company-wide data. This trend warrants organisations to be more pragmatic about their
approach to cybersecurity and selective about whom they work with – where possible, businesses should try to only work with vendors who employ the highest level of protection. Businesses are at risk of falling victim to an attack, even when they have
infrastructure and policies in place. If you’re a distributor for example, consider if you’re confident in your wholesalers and your customers. Cybersecurity needs to be universal, and it needs to be robust. This year and beyond, solutions with a ‘zero-trust’ framework will
be crucial, where all requests are thoroughly scrutinised to ensure no threats can bypass and touch precious data. In particular, organisations should adopt AI cybersecurity at the physical layer, such as an AI- infused SSD, which acts as the last line of defence. Now is the time to capitalise on new technologies and enhance defences.
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