The Evolution of Cyber Attacks in the Last Two Years
The pandemic has led to a significant increase in remote work. As employees started working from home, many did so from less secure environments, like coffee shops or public spaces. This shift has caused security challenges, moving away from traditional perimeter security and towards securing distributed environments. This trend has reshaped the cybersecurity landscape, especially in the transition to cloud services.
Furthermore, the range of attack vectors has increased, making it harder for security teams to control the IT environment of remote workers. These factors have created new challenges for IT departments who are now managing security across more diverse and vulnerable infrastructures. Even more concerning is the widespread use of cheap IoT devices, often used to control home appliances and the environment, which can be easily exploited by cybercriminals.
Lessons We Can Learn from the Biggest Cyber Attacks in Recent History
Email remains a critical vector for cyberattacks, with over 95% of attacks starting from email. Despite advancements in other areas, email security continues to be a major vulnerability for most organizations. Fortune 500 companies, as well as smaller organizations, still struggle to defend against email-based attacks. Even major email security vendors have been found lacking in their defenses against these growing threats.
The recent rise in ransomware attacks, including incidents with major companies such as San Francisco 49ers, Opus Interactive, Cisco, Entrust, Rackspace, Colonial Pipeline, JBS, Kia Motors, Acer, and Accenture, underscores the critical role email plays in initiating these attacks. In many of these cases, the mitigation strategies and processes in place were inadequate to stop the attack before it escalated.
However, it is essential to understand that in some instances, even the best prevention tools would not have been enough to stop these sophisticated attacks. The key takeaway is that cybersecurity must be a proactive and adaptive discipline, especially as threats continue to evolve.
In 2023, the question is how to mix and weigh the right security initiatives to get the best possible result.
What Will Cyber Attacks Look Like in the Future?
While cyberattacks are not drastically changing in their core approach, the tools and methods attackers use will keep evolving. Email remains the most effective and preferred method of initiating attacks, as it has for decades. The tactics, such as phishing and malware payloads, will continue to adapt, but email will always be the entry point for cybercriminals.
The real problem is not the small or medium-sized business email solutions but the large, expensive hosted “professional” environments that are often undersecured. These platforms, which are used by major corporations, are a prime target for cybercriminals due to their widespread use and potential impact.
Two Essential Pieces of Advice for Organizations to Avoid Future Cyber Attacks
- Cover the most significant entry points: This includes email and any other vectors specific to your business.
- Prepare for breaches: It’s not a question of if but when you’ll experience a breach. Organizations must be ready to detect, mitigate, and remediate such breaches quickly and effectively.
While we can never predict the exact nature of future cyberattacks, we can take proactive steps to ensure we are better prepared for when an attack occurs. By focusing on securing the most critical attack vectors and having a solid response plan, organizations can reduce the impact of potential breaches.
To learn more about how to enhance your email security, explore Abusix Mail Intelligence or schedule a session with an expert to strengthen your defenses today.
