Beyond supply chain attacks and ransomware

This past year has been one of victory – for cybercriminals. The first nine months of 2021 saw 40% more cyberattacks than the same period in 2020, according to data from Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. And next year, things look to get even more challenging, with new and more comprehensive types of attacks, especially by state-level actors. Here is a look at what 2021 has brought, and what we can expect in 2022:

By Shmulik Yehezkel, Chief Critical Cyber Operations Officer at CYE

The year of the supply chain attack

Supply chain attacks were up more than sixfold in the first nine months of the year alone, according to a report from software supply chain management company Sonatype. These attacks, including the high-profile SolarWinds incident of late 2020 whose fallout continues to expand, are extremely dangerous because once a hacker gains access to a significant software supplier, they can also sometimes reach the data and code of their subscribers and customers. This provides multiple routes to new targets, including those that were once considered well-protected. Another advantage for attackers is deniability, as they can use the supply-chain company as a proxy for another target.