Cybersecurity and data protection are built on a continuous arms race. No matter how hard we try, hackers will always come up with new ways to fool our defenses. There’s no end in sight to our war against hacker groups – the only thing we can do is observe, monitor, and adapt.
2021 was a very eventful year in the history of cybersecurity. We’ve seen the average global cost of a data breach reach US$4 million and the average ransom payments rise to over US$5.3 million in Canada. Perhaps more importantly, we saw several extremely disruptive hacker attacks, like the US Colonial Pipeline attack.
We’ve overcome many challenges in 2021, but 2022 promises to be even worse. To help you protect your assets, here are some trends you should watch out for this year.
4 Cybersecurity Trends to Watch Out For in 2022
Ransomware Will Likely Continue to Grow
Many businesses tremble in fear at the mere thought of ransomware, and for a good reason. Ransomware gangs are proliferating and are constantly coming up with more and more sophisticated methods of extortion. Ransom demands are reaching record highs all the time, now being in the tens of millions of US dollars.
Despite immense efforts from governments and organizations worldwide, ransomware is very likely to keep growing. Acronis believes that ransomware will expand to macOS, Linux, IoT (Internet of Things), the cloud, and virtual systems in 2022.
Attacks on Cryptocurrency Owners Could Increase
Even though the cryptocurrency market can be a rollercoaster when it comes to returns, crypto is more popular than ever. Acronis believes that cryptocurrency owners will experience more attacks in 2022. In addition to phishing attacks and malware that swap addresses in crypto wallets, Acronis expects hackers to start focusing more heavily on smart contracts – the programs that underly cryptocurrency networks.
Supply Chain Attacks Might Become More Prominent
Supply chain attacks are a relatively new threat in the cybersecurity industry, and they could become very prominent in 2022. Attacks on the supply chain can be difficult to detect because of the existing trust between business partners and vendors, which amplifies their threat.
Managed service providers (MSPs) will be in particular danger. At the same time, VMware head of cybersecurity strategy Tom Kellermann advises that following Zero Trust practices like threat hunting, microsegmentation, and advanced telemetry can help organizations keep their supply chains secure.
Edge Security Could Become More Challenging
Today, more devices are connected to the internet than ever, ranging from smartphones to smart thermostats. On one hand, connected devices certainly make life more convenient – on the other, edge devices can serve as an easy entry point into your business if you fail to keep them secure.
Blind spots can become a nasty issue as our networks incorporate more and more devices. To ensure full protection, you must constantly update your cybersecurity standards and policies and leverage cloud cybersecurity solutions like SASE.
Staying Protected in 2022
We’ve got plenty of work to do in 2022 to protect our assets. Furthermore, we need to start looking further ahead than just tomorrow.
As providers of QiSpace™ and TrUE quantum-secure encryption solutions, we at Quantropi are extremely worried about the implications of quantum computing for cybersecurity. Not only will current encryption methods fall victim to quantum computers, but any data that is stolen today might be cracked tomorrow when threat actors add quantum machines to their arsenals.
The challenges of 2022 have much more far-reaching consequences than you might imagine. It’s therefore extremely important for us to strengthen our cybersecurity measures today so that we don’t have to taste the bitter fruits of inaction tomorrow.
