Using malware and other lethal tools and methodologies (including social engineering), cyber criminals and nation-states unleashed pernicious attacks on their targets. This is what has been revealed by SonicWall in its latest report
This increasingly appears that the COVID afflicted 2020 has proved to be a perfect year for cyber criminals and nation-states for waging lethal attacks on their targets. Though, most of the attacks were unleashed for monetary gains, the year witnessed increasing stances of nation-states launching targeted assaults on the digitally ordained assets and critical infrastructure of their adversaries. The year witnessed cyber arms being increasingly used by black-hats and rogue elements as well as sovereign nation states. This has been revealed by SonicWall in its recently published paper titled – 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report.
Bill Conner, President & CEO, SonicWall, said, “2020 offered a perfect storm for cybercriminals and a critical tipping point for the cyber arms race”. “The pandemic — along with remote work, a charged political climate, record prices of cryptocurrency, and threat actors weaponizing cloud storage and tools — drove the effectiveness and volume of cyberattacks to newer highs. This latest threat intelligence offers a look at how cybercriminals shifted and refined their tactics, painting a picture of what they are doing amid the uncertain future that lies ahead”, elaborated Conner.
The 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report highlights how COVID-19 provided threat actors with ample opportunity for more powerful, aggressive and numerous attacks, thriving on the fear and uncertainty of remote and mobile workforces navigating corporate networks from home.
“There is no code of conduct when it comes to cybercriminals, their methods of attacks and the selection of their targets,” said Conner. “Technology is moving at an unprecedented rate. Threats that were once thought to be two or three years away are now a reality, with do-it-yourself, cloud-based tools creating an army of cybercriminals armed with the same devastating force and impact of a nation-state or larger criminal enterprise. Organizations must remain vigilant and proactive in hardening their cybersecurity posture”, added he.
The annual 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report arms enterprises, small- and medium-sized business, government agencies and other organizations with actionable threat intelligence collected by the SonicWall Capture Labs threat research team. In-house researchers work collectively with other industry experts, over 50 industry collaboration groups, research teams and freelance security researchers.
Data for the report is gathered from over 1.1 million sensors strategically placed in over 215 countries and territories around the world as well as cross-vector, threat related information shared among SonicWall security systems, including firewalls, email security devices, endpoint security solutions, honeypots, content filtering systems and the SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) multi-engine sandbox.
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