Cyber Defense eMagazine March Edition for 2022

#3: Supply chains will be the big ransomware target
In July 2021, a medical management services provider in New York experienced a ransomware attack
that affected more than 1.2 million individuals – one of the largest breaches of health data reported to the
federal regulators in 2021.
We are all familiar with the threat of ransomware. What is changing is the number of cyberattacks – like
this one – that target trusted third-party vendors who offer services or software that are vital to the supply
chain, but which attack agents regard as softer targets.
IT decision-makers believe that these kinds of supply chain attacks are to become one of the biggest
threats to their organizations in the coming year. But most have not vetted either their current or
prospective suppliers in the past 12 months.
To stay ahead of it, now is the time for organisations to put a response strategy into place. Until they do,
this will remain an attractive target.
#4: Increased risk for SMBs
The world has changed but the age-old mantra still applies: attack agents will always go for the easiest
target. That is what is driving the growth in supply chain attacks – and is also behind the increasing
frequency of attacks on SMBs.
In its 2020 Internet Crime Report, the FBI recorded 791,790 complaints of suspected internet crime
among small businesses (300,000 more than in 2019), and total losses of more than $4.2 billion.
SMBs may not have the resources or expertise to protect themselves adequately, but they still have
valuable information residing within their systems. That’s why they are subject to growing numbers of
targeted and complex attacks.
In addition, the recent mass shift toward remote and hybrid working practices has seen people’s private
and professional lives becoming intertwined, often resulting in a less than diligent approach to
cybersecurity. With that, SMBs have experienced a jump in cyberattacks as a result of human error. In
fact, human error is responsible for a staggering 95 percent of data breaches, an issue that has only
been heightened by the effects of the pandemic.
As such, it has become clear that just like everyone else, SMBs need robust cybersecurity that includes
all layers, from software to the physical and everything in between.
Enter, AI-infused cybersecurity solutions. AI has the power to reduce human intervention, allowing data
to be secured without the need for extensive knowledge or training.
Cyber Defense eMagazine – March 2022 Edition 97
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