The post-pandemic world that significantly depends on digital technologies is a breeding ground for cyberattacks. Check out this post for 5 cybersecurity threats businesses should prepare themselves for in 2022.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a constant flurry of cyberattacks. Even some of the biggest organizations worldwide were unable to protect themselves against highly sophisticated cybersecurity threats. As the reliance on digital technologies in the post-pandemic world is at an all-time high, cybercrimes are only expected to rise.

Proactive protection is the only way for businesses to avoid being the next victim. 5 cybersecurity threats that deserve your attention in 2022 are discussed below-

1. Cloud Threats

An increasing number of businesses are adopting cloud infrastructure to accelerate digital transformation. But as cloud technologies are rapidly evolving, their dep loyment often leaves security loopholes that cybercriminals can exploit. Moreover, several organizations also use various clouds, which further extends the threat exposure.

Weak authentication, misconfigurations, shadow IT use, and improper RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) management are common vulnerabilities in cloud deployment.

2.Ransomware

Another cyber threat businesses should watch out for in 2022 is ransomware. They have highly advanced attack patterns that  can follow several steps and take various forms for achieving the objectives. Common examples include crypto-ransomware, non-encrypting ransomware, leakware, scareware, and RaaS (Ransomware as a Service).

Through ransomware attacks, the attackers generally encrypt, lock, or exfiltrate valuable data and ask a ransom to decrypt, unlock, to infiltrate the same.

3. Social Engineering

While most of the latest cyber threats exploit technical vulnerabilities, social engineering attacks rely on human errors. Attackers find it easier to trick the employees than try to breach security systems. Email impersonation, quid pro quo, tailgating, baiting, vishing, and phishing are typical examples of social engineering attacks.

With the advancements in technologies, such attacks are only expected to become more creative, advanced, and dangerous for businesses in 2022.

4. Remote Work Threats

When employees work from the office, stringent workplace policies, firewalls, and awareness protect them against common cyber threats. But it is challenging to implement cybersecurity measures when working from home. This makes vectors such as VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), VNC (Virtual Network Computing), and RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) highly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Attackers are expected to exploit these vulnerabilities well into the future, with several organizations adopting remote working and hybrid working practices.

5. Supply Chain Attacks

In supply chain cybersecurity attacks, the threat actor targets a 3^rd party provider with the aim to infiltrate larger organizations they work with. For instance, they can attack a SaaS (Software as a Service) provider to gain a foothold in their client companies. Once this is done, they can then spread across the larger organization and compromise their customers.

As most large companies now use highly-interconnected and sophisticated supply chains, attackers can use these attacks to exploit a network in any company or even government agency.

Tackling Cyber Threats in 2022 and Beyond

As the world becomes more connected, cyber threats will only continue to rise. But staying on top of all the latest threats can be overwhelming for any organization.

The expertise of professional business security consultants can help a business proactively detect the technological vulnerabilities within their organization to ensure that adequate measures can be taken for improved security.