7 Cybercrime Trends That Impact 2022 Security

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Be Ready for What’s Next By Watching These 7 Cybercrime Trends

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The growth and evolution of cybercrime in the last year has been rapid. Major cyberattacks, like malware and business email compromise, are more frequent and more expensive than ever. Phishing continues to become more sophisticated and harder to detect while nation-state cybercrime is expanding its scope, menacing businesses in every sector. This surge of cyber risk has created complex challenges for IT professionals. Building strong, resilient defenses that are ready to handle anything has never been more important and a good defense starts with good threat intelligence. That includes being aware of the trends that shaped today’s picture to see how they’ll shape tomorrow’s.  

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Excerpted in part from The Global Year in Breach 2022. DOWNLOAD IT>> 

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7 Cybercrime Trends to Follow 

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These trends shaped the risk landscape in 2021 and we anticipate they will continue to exert a strong influence in 2022. 

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1. Nation-state cyberattacks are escalating 

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Today’s nation-state threat actor isn’t just concentrating their fire on government and military targets. Instead, they’re coming for private enterprises of all sizes. An estimated 90% of nation-state cybercriminal groups regularly conduct operations against enterprises. 

Targets of nation-state cyberattacks	% of total attacks recorded
Enterprises	35%
Cyber Defense Assets	25%
Media & Communications	14%
Government Bodies	12%
Critical Infrastructure	10%
Other	4%

Source: Dr. Mike McGuire and HP, Nation States, Cyberconflict and the Web of Profit   

In the 2021 Microsoft Digital Defense Report, the company shared valuable insight on the activities of nation-state cybercriminals in 2021 and how their attack patterns are evolving, offering a look at what to expect as 2022 progresses. 

• The four major players that threaten businesses the most are Russia, Iran, North Korea and China.   
• About 58% of all nation-state attacks in 2021 were launched by Russian nation-state actors. 
• Russian nation-state actors are increasingly effective, jumping from a 21% successful compromise rate in 2020 to a 32% rate in 2021. 
• Over 70% of nation-state attacks these researchers observed targeted enterprises.  

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2. Spoofing and brand fraud are growing 

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As the pandemic raged on, ever-rising volumes of email traffic due to the powerful combination of a shift to remote work and the increasing sophistication of phishing messages gave rise to brand impersonation woes. The number of domains suspected of some degree of brand impersonation rose by more than 360% since 2020. 

The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2021 shows the rapid rise of brand impersonation, clocking in 15 times higher in 2021 than it did in 2020. Employees encounter this threat frequently – 25% of all branded emails that companies receive are spoofed or brand impersonation attempts.     

Most imitated brands of 2021 

1. DHL 23%  
2. Microsoft 20%  
3. WhatsApp 11%  
4. Google 10%  
5. LinkedIn 8%  
6. Amazon 4%  
7. Roblox 3%  
8. FedEx 3%  
9. PayPal 2%  
10. Apple 2% 
11. Other 14% 

Source: ZDNet 

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3. More attacks on manufacturing and industry 

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Make no mistake, manufacturing and industry are firmly in cybercriminal sights. A whopping 80% of organizations in those sectors reported that they experienced a ransomware attack in 2021.     

Which industrial targets were attacked the most in 2021? 

Industry	% of Total
Manufacturing	61%
Oil & Gas	11%
Transportation	10%
Utilities	10%
Mining	7%
Heavy & Civil Engineering	1%

Source: IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2021 

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4. Attacks on infrastructure are accelerating 

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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Complaint Center (FBI IC3) reports that U.S. organizations in 14 of 16 critical infrastructure categories experienced at least one ransomware attack in 2021.   

Number of attacks on infrastructure sectors 

Sector	Number of reported attacks
Healthcare and Public Health	48
Financial Services	89
Information Technology	74
Critical Manufacturing	65
Government Facilities	60
Commercial Facilities	56
Food and Agriculture	52
Transportation	38
Energy	32
Communications	17
Chemical	12
Water and Wastewater Systems	4
Emergency Services	2
Defense Industrial Base	1

Source: FBI IC3 

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5. The number of ransomware attacks ballooned 

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FBI analysts disclosed that IC3 received more than 2,000 ransomware complaints, with more than $16 million in losses — a 20% increase in reported losses compared to the same period in 2020.  That trend is set to continue with no end in sight. Since 2020, the United States incurred a 127% increase in the number of ransomware attacks while the United Kingdom exhibited a 233% surge in ransomware infections.   

Biggest percentage increase in ransomware attacks (by industry) in the U.S. in 2021 

Industry	% increase in ransomware attacks
Government and Public Sector	1,885%
Healthcare	775%
Education	152%
Retail	21%

Source: Fortune Magazine  

Some industries had it a little bit harder than others. Banking and Finance got absolutely hammered in Q1 and Q2 2021, with a 1,318% increase in the number of ransomware attacks waged against that sector. That pressure leveled off in the second half of the year. Ultimately, almost one-quarter of attacks in 2021 were aimed at banking and finance targets.  

The top 10 industries for ransomware attacks 

Industry	% of total recorded attacks in 2021
Banking and Finance	22%
Utilities	20%
Retail	16%
Education	9%
Government	8%
Industrial	4.8%
Outsourcing and Hosting	4%
Construction	3.6%
Insurance	3%
Wholesale	1%
Other	8.6%

Source: Trellix 

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6. Ransom demands are rising 

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 Cybercriminals have upped their prices, notching new record-high ransom demands. In 2021, the average paid ransom amount increased by 82% to a new record high average ransom demand of $570,000, compared with just $170,000 in 2020.   

Ransoms paid in 2021 

Amount	% of total recorded
$10 – $50 million	19%
$2 – $10 million	46%
Less than $2 million	35%

Source: IBM 

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7. The cost of a data breach is the highest in nearly two decades 

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A data breach is more expensive than it has ever been. In the IBM/Ponemon Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021, researchers pegged the average cost of a breach at $4.2 million per incident — 10% higher than in 2020 and the highest recorded in the 17 years of the study. If a data breach was caused by a remote worker, that cost rose by another $1.5 million.   

The top 5 industries by average total data breach cost  

	2020	2021
Healthcare	$7.13 million	$9.23 million
Financial	$5.72 million	$5.85 million
Pharmaceuticals	$5.04 million	$5.06 million
Technology	$4.88 million	$5.04 million
Energy	$4.65 million	$6.35 million

Source: IBM

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Reduce The Risk of These 7 Cybercrime Trends Impacting You

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