Top 5 Cybercrime Predictions for 2022: How Well Are You Prepared?

While cybercriminals continue to leverage the impact of the pandemic, experts continue to predict the emergence of sophisticated ways of attacks targeting various industries with the most up-to-date technologies like deepfake and AI.

According to Harvard Business Review, the amount of money the hackers received in 2021 increased by 300%, and the SARs referenced 458 suspicious transactions amounting to USD 590 million. Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) also reported that supply chain attacks rose by 42% in the first quarter of 2021 in the US, impacting up to seven million people and there were more than 68 different ransomware variants active only in the first half of 2021. These ransomware attacks allowed the US Treasury to tie USD 5.2 billion in Bitcoin transactions to ransomware payments.

Moreover, based on the trends and patterns we observed, supply chain attacks have the biggest power to compromise several related providers involved in the network, as malware takes up more than 60% of attacks each year.

In our previous blog <Can We Prevent the Spread of Software Supply Chain Attacks?>, we defined a supply chain attack as an attack method where a threat actor poses damage to an organization by first compromising another organization in its supply chain. This other organization could be a supplier, distributor, retailer, or partner, thus a supply chain attack is sometimes also called a value chain attack. For organizations to take the right precautions, we must make most of the guiding tools and strategies to manage cyber risks and look out for cybercrime predictions in advance. 

 

Top 5 Cybercrime Predictions for 2022

As each country is trying to cope with the speed at which cybercrimes occurred this year, more and more organizations are rapidly deploying up-to-date technology and solutions due to the continuing pandemic. Therefore, to protect ourselves from increasing threats, we must be aware of bad actors using various techniques to try to sneak into the systems. 

As mentioned in our previous blogs, there certainly are a few specific industries that need to take extra precautions when it comes to protecting data and privacy. Small and medium-sized businesses tend to lack the resources to put into cybersecurity which obviously makes them an easy target for cybercrimes. 

Precisely, attacks targeted at the healthcare sector are a growing concern as problems are worsening since the pandemic started. Energy and utility companies are also one of the main targets of attacks as they deliver a death blow to a nation’s security. As the year draws to a close, it is crucial to know the types of cybercrimes that are ought to occur next year and beyond, and take further measures to protect our businesses from these threats. Here are the top 5 cybercrime predictions for 2022. 

 

1. Ransomware Attacks & Phishing 

Phishing and spear-phishing have occurred more often during the pandemic than any other period. The growing number of ransomware attacks is a concern for many governments across the globe and each is wielding to wreak havoc in our daily lives. We expect sophisticated attacks will continue to break records and increase the number of ransomware and phishing attacks in 2022. 

 

2. Data Breaches 

Many research organizations expect to face a record-breaking year for data breaches in 2022. Although hackers are targeting the government level, however, this could potentially lead to causing significant damages to individuals. According to IBM, the average data breach cost only in 2021 was USD 4.24 million dollars, a 10% rise from 2020 findings. 

 

3. Deepfakes

Deepfake technology is now advanced enough to be used to abuse and manipulate content, opinions, and even stock prices since 2020. Moreover, it could escalate physical or geopolitical tensions and it is continuing to threaten organizations with disinformation as they can’t be proven quickly enough before the actual consequences happen.

 

4. Cyber Cold War 

With rising cyber-tensions between the US and Russia since 2016, when the CIA reported that Russia had directly influenced the result of the presidential election, favoring Donal Trump at that time. Since then we have witnessed several sophisticated cyberattacks attempting the security compromise of government agencies. Such cyberattacks are continuously expected to destabilize the economy and political activities globally. 

 

5. Crypto & Mobile App Attacks 

Mobile devices now account for more than 60% of digital fraud and mobile phishing exposure surged 161% within the energy industry during the past year, according to Check Point. Even with end-to-end encryption and firewalls, a diversified mobile devices ecosystem is continuing to put us in danger in 2022. 

Moreover, as digital currencies continue to become the center of attention, innovative attacks are emerging to steal assets from users. They look into the security flaws of exchanges and wallet apps and steal digital assets by exploiting these platforms. 

 

How to Prevent Your Organization from Threats

1 out of 61 organizations was impacted by ransomware each week this year. For us to prevent ourselves from emerging cyber threats, a crucial first step is to identify our vulnerabilities. Hackers aim for quality data hence there is an increasing number of data exfiltration and extortion attacks. Therefore, all organizations should realize that we must adopt prevention as a practice. Deploying a firewall or access management system can help with reducing the risk of unnecessary information being exposed to others. 

Additionally, threat actors will become more sophisticated and connected, hiring IT professionals to protect your organization and to keep hackers at bay. As the popularity of the well-known attacks grows, we must use tools to customize our systems and strategy and prepare ourselves for post-pandemic cybersecurity. In other words, re-architecture and re-orient are the two main things that could be implemented to strengthen your cyber defenses.

Even though cybersecurity is an evolving field with various bad actors at play, our clients and partners were able to successfully guard their network systems and databases in 2021 as well via iSIGN+ (an appliance-type single sign-on security solution) and WAPPLES (an award-winning web application firewall). We support our clients and partners by keeping our products up-to-date and being ready for the disruptive nature that technology brings. We are proud to ensure our customers by working as one in order to combat the challenges in 2022 and beyond. Get to know more about our products and solutions here today: 

 

Web Application Firewall: WAPPLES

Database Encryption: D’Amo

Identity and Access Management: iSIGN+ 

Car, Energy, Factory, City Solutions: Penta IoT Security