Kaspersky predicts the trend of targeted attacks in 2022

Mobile devices are attractive to attackers, as smartphones are always with their owners and each potential target acts as a repository of vast amounts of valuable information.

The trend of targeted attacks will still be developed by hackers in 2022

In 2021, Kaspersky sees more iOS attacks than ever before. Unlike on PC or Mac, where users have the option to install a security package, on iOS such products are limited or simply non-existent. This creates many opportunities for APTs.

Kaspersky researchers pay special attention to how often cybercriminals exploit weaknesses in vendor security to compromise the company's customers. Such attacks are particularly lucrative and valuable to attackers because they allow access to a large number of potential targets. For this reason, supply chain attacks are expected to trend up in 2022.

Additionally, with the remote working model, cybercriminals will continue to use employees' unprotected or unpatched home computers as a way to infiltrate corporate networks. Techniques for stealing credentials and brute-force attacks on corporate services to gain access to weakly protected servers will continue.

Besides, low level attacks: bootkit 'hot' back. Due to the popularity of Secure Boot (Secure Boot) among desktop users, cybercriminals are forced to find ways to exploit or find new vulnerabilities in this security mechanism to bypass the security system. . Therefore, the number of bootkits is expected to increase in 2022.

"There are dozens of events happening every day that are changing the world of cyberspace," said Ivan Kwiatkowski, senior security researcher at Kaspersky. These changes are quite difficult to track and even harder to predict. However, over the past few years, based on the knowledge of experts, we can predict many future trends in the world of cybersecurity. We believe it's important to continue to monitor APT-related activities, assess the impact of these targeted campaigns, and share the insights we've gained with the community. By sharing these predictions, we hope to help users better prepare for what they may encounter in cyberspace in the near future."

Kareem Winters

Update 27 November 2021