Top Cybersecurity Threats in 2022 That Businesses Are Worried About

Here’s a roundup of the top cybersecurity threats in 2022 and the kind of malicious actors that the cybersecurity community is most concerned about.

October 26, 2022

According to SonicWall, if you want to get an accurate picture of the state of cybersecurity in 2022, you need to look beyond analysts’ cybersecurity statistics and find out what cybersecurity professionals themselves are experiencing and what they anticipate the future of cybersecurity to be. 

SonicWall initiated its 2022 Threat Mindset Survey to learn from its customers worldwide the answers to these questions. The survey revealed that 66% of the people surveyed were more concerned about cyberattacks this year than ever before, which is not surprising.

According to the Allianz Risk Barometer, in 2022, cybersecurity threats and their accompanying data breaches and IT outages worry companies more than any other risk factor, including supply chain disruptions, pandemic outbreaks or natural disasters. 

Top Cybersecurity Threats to Prepare for in 2022

With October being Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we bring to you the top types of cybersecurity threats and the kind of malicious actors you should be aware of and guard against:

Ransomware

Ransomware is number one on their customers’ list of cybersecurity concerns, cited by 91% of the survey respondents. Ransomware attacks have become particularly pervasive in the last couple of years and the subject of numerous media reports on cybersecurity. While ransomware attacks can take on several variations, they all have one purpose: blocking access to your data until you pay a ransom to get your data back. Ransoms have ranged anywhere from $5000 to $200,000. It should be noted that even if you pay the ransom, there is no guarantee you will get all of your data back. 

Phishing and spear-phishing

The second type of cyberattack mentioned by 76% of the survey respondents was phishing and spear-phishing. This most commonly occurs through an email phishing attack that tricks the recipient into downloading malware or giving up their credentials. Clearly, there is a need for organizational cybersecurity awareness training to alleviate this concern. 

Encrypted malware

Encrypted malware ranked third in the SonicWall surveyOpens a new window , cited by 66% of the respondents. According to a recent report from security researchers at Sophos, nearly half (46%) of all malware in 2020 was hidden within an encrypted package. Organizations that do not have efficient resources that allow visibility into decrypted traffic packets may unknowingly be letting massive amounts of malware enter their networks. 

Fileless attacks

Fileless attacks are a concern for over one-third of those surveyed (39%) by SonicWall. File-less malware is difficult to detect because it uses legitimate programs to infect a computer. It does not rely on files and leaves no footprint. Having learned the strategies adopted by organizations to block these attacks, cybercriminals are becoming increasingly adept at creating malware that can evade all but the most sophisticated security defenses. 

Memory-based malware

About a quarter of the respondents (24%) said they were concerned about memory-based malware. Memory-based malware is essentially file-less malware stored in a targeted computer’s random access memory (RAM). Once written onto the RAM, memory-based malware can carry out various malicious activities.

Cryptojacking

About a quarter of the respondents (23%) cited cryptojacking attacks as one of their cybersecurity concerns. Cryptojacking uses a computing device (such as a laptop, smartphone, tablet, or server) without the owner’s consent or knowledge to secretly mine cryptocurrency. Instead of using their own dedicated crypto mining computer and incurring the costly overhead of cryptomining, hackers steal their victim’s computing resources and transfer the costs to them, from slowed down processes, increased electricity bills, and shortened device life cycles. 

IoT malware

IoT malware is a concern cited by 22% of those surveyed. Nevertheless, many more organizations should be concerned. According to Symantec, IoT devices experience an average of 5,200 cyber attacks per month. By 2023, analysts predict there will be between 27 to over 50 billion connected devices, everything from laptops and medical devices to smart locks, smart appliances and smart thermostats. Because these devices possess limited computing capacity and lack built-in security defenses, they are especially vulnerable to hacker attacks attempting to gain access to your network. 

Side-channel attacks

Side-channel attacks were cited as a concern by 18% of the respondents. A side-channel attack (SCA) attempts to extract electronic “secrets” from a chip or a system by measuring or analyzing various physical parameters, such as supply current, execution time, and electromagnetic emission. Signals from popular devices such as smartphones, embedded devices and IoT devices have been used to extract sensitive information or behaviors by analyzing the signal frequency in a specific period of time. These attacks have become a serious threat to modules that integrate cryptographic systems. 

See More: Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Eight Security Insights That You Should Know

What Kind of Actors Does the Cybersecurity Community Fear the Most?

To obtain another perspective on the state of the cybersecurity landscape, SonicWall asked its customers which type of threat actors they were most concerned about. Here are their responses:

Financially motivated

Just as ransomware attacks were listed as the top concern for SonicWall customers, 89% of the respondents named any threats carried out by financially motivated individuals an equally top concern. The increasing profitability to criminals of ransomware attacks makes them all the more problematic. 

State-sponsored threats

Almost half (43%) of the respondents cited state-sponsored attacks as something they have to be mindful of, especially in light of the Russian/Ukraine conflict. This conflict, like other modern wars, is taking place not just on land, air and sea but also in the digital world. State-sponsored hackers are doing their best to pulverize the enemy’s critical infrastructure, digital assets, and industries that aid the war effort. It is pertinent for organizations to guard against such attacks and constantly monitor the tools and techniques of prominent state-sponsored actors.

Insider threats

Only 34% of those surveyed (34%) mentioned they were concerned about threats from inside the organization, such as disgruntled employees. 

Supply chain or partner networks

About a third (33%) of the respondents cited concern over security weaknesses in their supply chain or partner networks. Maybe more should be concerned. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 45% of organizations worldwide will have experienced attacks on their software supply chain. According to RiskManagementMonitor.com, only 52% of companies have security standards in place that can prevent cybercriminals from hacking vulnerable networks belonging to third parties that enjoy privileged access to the hacker’s primary target. For example, attackers breached the SolarWinds network by exploiting a supplier’s privileged access. 

Hacktivist

About 20% of those surveyed were concerned about threats coming from hacktivists. Hacktivists carry out politically motivated attacks. For example, more than 100 groups have conducted cyberattacks since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The attacks were primarily DDoS but also included data breaches, the use of wipers and the distribution of propaganda. 

Competitor espionage

A small percentage (12%) of respondents were concerned about espionage-motivated attacks from their competitors. 

See More: The Undeclared War: How Accurate Are the Threats?

What Are Organizations Doing To Guard Against Cybersecurity Threats?

Finally, SonicWall surveyed its customers regarding their use of four proven policies to address their privacy concerns: patching, adequate security staffing, adequate security budget, and keeping up-to-date with the latest changes and threats to the cybersecurity landscape. Here are their responses:

Patching

Unpatched systems are an easy target for cyberattacks as they are easy for attackers to detect. According to Ponemon Institute research, 57% of cyberattack victims say their breach could have been prevented if only they had installed an available patch. Yet, despite patching being one of the lowest-cost cybersecurity practices having the highest impact, 78% of the SonicWall respondents reported that they don’t have a policy that requires patching critical vulnerabilities within 24 hours of patch availability. Another 12% only apply critical patches when they find the time to do it. Some respondents (6%) don’t have a set patching policy. It should be noted that many automated tools can scan for outdated applications and missing patches, along with the right patching policy in place, can help prevent an organization from becoming a victim due to unpatched systems. 

Hiring an adequate number of security personnel

There is a severe shortage of cybersecurity professionals, and this is reflected in respondents’ answers to the survey. Almost half (46%) of the respondents say their current security staffing is inadequate. Of those surveyed, 26% cited their inability to hire and/or train cybersecurity personnel fast enough as a major issue in preventing them from addressing growing cybersecurity demands. 

Having an adequate security budget

Spending on risk management and information security is estimated to reach $172.5 billion in 2022, almost an 11% increase over the previous year. Nevertheless, 41% of the respondents said that their current IT/cybersecurity budget was inadequate to meet growing cybersecurity demands. 

Keeping up with the security landscape

While a majority of respondents expressed a desire to keep up with the current changes, trends, news and threats to the cybersecurity landscape, about three out of four respondents (74%) ranked the difficulty of “keeping up with the changing security landscape” as their biggest issue impeding their ability to address growing cybersecurity concerns. 

As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. To have a good offense, you will need to keep up with the latest changes in the cybersecurity landscape as well as effective strategies for mitigating new and increasingly sophisticated threats. According to Gartner, the “changes in the way we work, together with greater use of public cloud, highly connected supply chains and use of cyber-physical systems have exposed new and challenging attack ‘surfaces.’ This leaves organizations more vulnerable to attack.”

Less fear, more productivity

As evidenced by the SonicWall survey, there is definitely a considerable amount of anxiety over the state of the cybersecurity landscape among cybersecurity professionals. What can be done to alleviate some of this anxiety? In the words of one SonicWall respondent:

“Proven cybersecurity products, solutions and strategies reduce anxiety and fear amongst the user base. That reduction helps to maintain productivity and the ability to work without too much continuous worry, which makes us much more successful.”

Can organizations rely on MSSPs alone to protect their networks from cyber threats? Comment below or let us know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!

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Mary Ann Richardson
Mary Ann Richardson is an independent IT analyst at technology research firm CMR Executive Advisory, focused on providing individuals and organizations with the information they need to use technology more productively and to make better business decisions. Ms Richardson has provided on-site training for a number of organizations in the Philadelphia area. A former Gartner analyst, Ms Richardson is also a frequent contributor to online technology sites.
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