Dec 8 – In the first half of 2021, ransomware attacks increased by 151%. According to Canada’s signals intelligence agency, Canadian infrastructure groups have seen a wave of ransomware attacks in recent months. Agency officials described more than more than 115 incidents directed at groups ranging from manufacturers, to energy providers, to hospitals.
Experts expect that ransomware operators will grow increasingly aggressive in their 2022 targeting, and an increase in infrastructure attacks may follow.
Critical infrastructure attacks
Organizations safeguarding critical infrastructure may want to prepare to contend with the unexpected. For example, infrastructure operators were unprepared for the Colonial Pipeline hack of 2021. The real-world impact of the attack led some to characterize it as the “most disruptive cyberattack on record.”
A single endpoint that lacks security protections can sink an entire organization. Measures should be taken, both publicly and privately, to prepare every element within every critical resource group for cyber threats.
Infrastructure groups both large and small may experience cyber attacks, especially during the Christmas and New Years holidays, when many enterprises are closed and monitoring stations or control rooms are lightly staffed.
Infrastructure: Executive-level discussions
Among infrastructure groups, cyber security should remain top-of-mind within executive-level discussions.
Successful cyber attacks on infrastructure groups can lead to downstream effects. In looking back at the Kaseya attack, we observe that hundreds of smaller organizations, only tangentially connected with Kaseya, experienced temporary disruptions to their enterprises that led to long-term losses.
Organizations can combat infrastructure attacks. A prevention-first mindset is key. From table-top exercises to zero-trust, organizations need to understand who might get in, how, why and the gaps that must be closed in systems.
Get further infrastructure insights here:
- Special report: Energy infrastructure and security 2021
- Power grid security, SolarWinds & the pervasive problems for critical infrastructure
- Remote access to industrial control systems, preventing cyber threats
- Protecting America’s water supply: The latest threats…
- Industrial network security: The roadmap to success
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