EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
“If we won’t care about cyber attacks, we are doomed to become victims of them,” says Check Point’s Gil Messing.
In 2021, both garden-variety phishing threats and advanced Gen 5 threats relentlessly assailed organizations, leading to stomach-churning breaches that made international headlines. Cyber threats resulted in damages worth as much as $6 trillion. From a financial perspective, cyber attacks in 2021 may have led to the largest economic disaster in history. 
In 2021, cloud vulnerabilities increased, remote work resulted in risks, ransomware attacks surged, and zero trust went mainstream. With so much at risk, organizations need to make strategic decisions designed to strengthen digital protection. Will 2022 be the year of cyber security?
2021 shortcomings
- 44% of security incidents occurred due to inadequate human firewalls
- 27% of breaches occurred because of unpatched software
- 26% of breaches unfolded due to misconfigured systems or services
Prominent 2021 attacks
- Colonial Pipeline attack
- Attack on JBS Foods
- Kaseya ransomware attack
- Oldsmar water supply attack
- Attacks associated with the Log4j vulnerability
2022 expectations – cyber
“The success of 2021 has already increased the appetite of the 2022 hackers,” says Gil Messing. “To put it simply – if it worked in 2021, you will see more of it in 2022”.
Attackers are likely to launch exhaustive supply chain attacks, attacks on cloud services, attacks on mobile phones, attacks that provide access to cryptocurrency accounts, and more.
Preparing for 2022 now
In 2021, the coronavirus has continued to spread and evolve, but through collective efforts (vaccines, masks), humans have been able to mitigate the worst of effects, in many cases. The lessons learned via the biological pandemic can be applied to the cyber pandemic: Take preventative measures to avert disaster.
“If we remain vigilant, Covid-19 will not be the only virus we can beat together,” says Messing.
Nine out of ten IT and security leaders believe that their organization deserves a failing grade when it comes to preventing cyber threats in a rapidly evolving threat landscape. In response, organizations need to expand cyber security budgets, which can be used to invest in tools that can close security gaps.
If every organization implements strong security, attackers will recognize that executing attacks will not be profitable. Attackers are hungry for data and financial reward. But if neither are available with reasonable effort, hackers may scale their campaigns back.
Where to invest?
- In 2022, experts advocate for organizations to consolidate cyber security solutions. Shaving away cyber security complexity means a reduction in cyber risk.
- Securing the supply chain should also represent a core priority across industries. We’ve all borne witness to the supply chain crisis in the physical world and are beginning to see a supply chain crisis in the cyber world too.
- Ensure that your organization has discovered all data that requires protection. Employ data discovery and use determination tactics.
- Protect your data analytics pipeline through masking, tokenization or encryption with properly defined access policies.
- The cyber security talent shortage is worsening. If needed, determine what your organization can do to support your existing IT and security teams.
Summary
As we approach 2022, ensure that your organization pursues innovative approaches to cyber security challenges.
From actionable articles to Buyer’s Guides, Cyber Talk is here to support you with the latest trends, analyses and resources. Start 2022 #cybersecuritystrong
Lastly, to learn more about pressing issues in the cyber world, please join us at the premiere cyber security event of the year – CPX 360 2022. Register here.
