Are you prepared? Cybersecurity expected to be lynchpin of safety in 2021
Companies should be ready to face challenges such as continuing vulnerabilities from remote work, increased coercion by ransomware attackers, and highly targeted attacks using fileless malware this year, according to ESET
Cybertech
| 05/01/2021
Photo: Bigstock
Although organizations are now more aware of growing online threats, they need to build more resilient systems and deploy detection and prevention technologies to effectively protect their operations in 2021, according to a recent report by cybersecurity company ESET.
According to ESET, among the main cybersecurity trends for this year are the following:
The future of work – embracing a new reality
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in mass implementation of remote working, which has seen a heavier reliance on technology than ever before. This shift away from the office has brought benefits for employees, but it has also left companies’ networks vulnerable to attack.
Jake Moore, ESET Security Specialist, said, "We have all learned that working remotely can benefit organizations; however, I don’t think that we will continue to work remotely five days a week. More employees around the world will naturally and effortlessly migrate to what works for them and their businesses."
"As more and more of our working and home lives become digitized, cybersecurity will remain the lynchpin of business safety. Cyberattacks are a persistent threat to organizations, and businesses must build resilient teams and IT systems to avoid the financial and reputational consequences of such an attack."
Ransomware with a twist – pay up or your data gets leaked
With ransomware attackers seeking greater leverage to coerce victims into paying, as well as upping the ante in ransom demands, the stakes are increasing for victims. Exfiltration and extortion may not be new techniques, but they are certainly growing trends.
Tony Anscombe, ESET Chief Security Evangelist, said, "Companies are becoming smarter, deploying technologies that thwart attacks and creating resilient backup and restore processes, so the bad actors need a 'Plan B' to be able to monetize their effort and build resilience into the attack, rather than being reliant on a single form of threat."
"Thwarted attacks or diligent backup and restore processes may no longer be enough to fend off a committed cybercriminal who’s demanding a ransom payment. The success in monetizing due to a change of technique offers cybercriminals an increased chance of a return on investment. This is a trend that, unfortunately, I am sure we will witness more of in 2021."
Beyond prevention – keeping up with the shifting sands of cyberthreats
In recent years, cybercriminal groups have turned to using increasingly complex techniques to deploy highly targeted attacks. Some time ago, the security community began to talk about "fileless malware" attacks, which piggyback on the operating system’s own tools and processes and leverage them for malicious purposes. These techniques have gained more traction recently, having been employed in various cyberespionage campaigns and by various malicious actors, mainly to hit high-profile targets such as government entities.
Camilo Gutiérrez Amaya, ESET Senior Security Researcher, said, "Fileless threats have been evolving rapidly, and it is expected that in 2021 these methods will be used in increasingly complex and larger-scale attacks. This situation highlights the need for security teams to develop processes leveraging tools and technologies that not only prevent malicious code from compromising computer systems, but that also have detection and response capabilities – even before these attacks fulfill their mission."
Companies should be ready to face challenges such as continuing vulnerabilities from remote work, increased coercion by ransomware attackers, and highly targeted attacks using fileless malware this year, according to ESET
Photo: Bigstock
Although organizations are now more aware of growing online threats, they need to build more resilient systems and deploy detection and prevention technologies to effectively protect their operations in 2021, according to a recent report by cybersecurity company ESET.
According to ESET, among the main cybersecurity trends for this year are the following:
The future of work – embracing a new reality
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in mass implementation of remote working, which has seen a heavier reliance on technology than ever before. This shift away from the office has brought benefits for employees, but it has also left companies’ networks vulnerable to attack.
Jake Moore, ESET Security Specialist, said, "We have all learned that working remotely can benefit organizations; however, I don’t think that we will continue to work remotely five days a week. More employees around the world will naturally and effortlessly migrate to what works for them and their businesses."
"As more and more of our working and home lives become digitized, cybersecurity will remain the lynchpin of business safety. Cyberattacks are a persistent threat to organizations, and businesses must build resilient teams and IT systems to avoid the financial and reputational consequences of such an attack."
Ransomware with a twist – pay up or your data gets leaked
With ransomware attackers seeking greater leverage to coerce victims into paying, as well as upping the ante in ransom demands, the stakes are increasing for victims. Exfiltration and extortion may not be new techniques, but they are certainly growing trends.
Tony Anscombe, ESET Chief Security Evangelist, said, "Companies are becoming smarter, deploying technologies that thwart attacks and creating resilient backup and restore processes, so the bad actors need a 'Plan B' to be able to monetize their effort and build resilience into the attack, rather than being reliant on a single form of threat."
"Thwarted attacks or diligent backup and restore processes may no longer be enough to fend off a committed cybercriminal who’s demanding a ransom payment. The success in monetizing due to a change of technique offers cybercriminals an increased chance of a return on investment. This is a trend that, unfortunately, I am sure we will witness more of in 2021."
Beyond prevention – keeping up with the shifting sands of cyberthreats
In recent years, cybercriminal groups have turned to using increasingly complex techniques to deploy highly targeted attacks. Some time ago, the security community began to talk about "fileless malware" attacks, which piggyback on the operating system’s own tools and processes and leverage them for malicious purposes. These techniques have gained more traction recently, having been employed in various cyberespionage campaigns and by various malicious actors, mainly to hit high-profile targets such as government entities.
Camilo Gutiérrez Amaya, ESET Senior Security Researcher, said, "Fileless threats have been evolving rapidly, and it is expected that in 2021 these methods will be used in increasingly complex and larger-scale attacks. This situation highlights the need for security teams to develop processes leveraging tools and technologies that not only prevent malicious code from compromising computer systems, but that also have detection and response capabilities – even before these attacks fulfill their mission."
