It's wake up time to enhance cyber security in 2022

In the new year, ransomware attacks are projected to increase, major nation-states look to ramp up aggressive tactics, and deep fakes are likely to compound the threats to cybersecurity. All credit goes to covid-19 pandemic upended workplaces and ushered in rapid digital transformation, the turmoil around cybercrime has remained constant. Attackers are always changing tactics to evade detection. When the experts close one window, hackers open another three windows for injecting the vulnerabilities, hence it is high time for the organizations to appoint atleast one security expert to secure and confident against cyber threats, like attacks on critical infrastructure are likely to gain prominence.

OEM-dependent closed systems, lack of understanding of operation technology, and poorly implemented security controls make attacks on critical infrastructure a ripe target. We will witness attacks on the healthcare sector, the criticality of the industry in COVID times present an opportunity for attackers to create significant disruption. There are State-sponsored cyber warfare who will see a significant increase driven in part by the current turbulent geopolitical situation.

The sharp increase in Cloud vulnerability will continue to dominate security conversations. Enterprises of all sizes and verticals have been forced to adopt the cloud as an effective way to make their infrastructure accessible for remote workers. Most of these enterprises have a minimal understanding of the underlying security needs, leaving them exposed big time for credential hijacking, data theft, and ransomware attacks.

Newer technologies including, Artificial Intelligence/ Deep Learning/ Machine Learning technologies have now been leveraged by cybersecurity technology providers for 2-3 years. Access to better quality data, cheap computing, and stabilization of algorithms has increased the trust of the cybersecurity industry in the ability of these technologies to not only for threat detection but also threat response. We can see increased use of AI across various layers of security from user access, endpoint & network security, and enterprise-wide threat detection.

We can’t avoid the supply chain attacks that will hog the limelight as the single biggest cybersecurity threat. It seems that the attackers are keen to create a multiplier effect by bringing down elements of the enterprise supply chain. The situation could be better when enterprises look for appointing cyber security skill sets to respond to threats, else there will be continuous dependence on service providers to bridge the gap and increasing companies’ cost and complexity.

Deepak Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA