VMware, Inc. released the
results of its sixth Global Incident Response Threat Report, entitled:
"The Cybersecurity Tipping Point: Election, COVID-19 Create Perfect
Storm for Increasingly Sophisticated Cyberattacks."
The
research found the cybersecurity challenges of the global pandemic are
now colliding with the 2020 U.S. presidential election resulting in a
surge of cyberattacks. As eCrime groups grow more powerful, these
attacks have grown increasingly sophisticated and destructive -
respondents reported that 82 percent of attacks now involve instances of
counter incident response (IR), and 55 percent involve island hopping,
where an attacker infiltrates an organization's network to launch
attacks on others within the supply chain.
"The
disruption caused by COVID-19 has created a massive opportunity for
criminals to restructure their businesses," said Tom Kellermann, Head of
Cybersecurity Strategy, VMware Carbon Black. "The rapid shift to a
remote world combined with the power and scale of the dark web has
fueled the expansion of eCrime groups. And now ahead of the election, we
are at cybersecurity tipping point, cybercriminals have become
dramatically more sophisticated and punitive focused on destructive
attacks."
Data
for the report is based on an online survey of eighty-three incident
response (IR) and cybersecurity professionals from around the world in
September 2020. The key survey findings from IR and cybersecurity
professionals include:
- Incidents of counter IR are at an all-time high, occurring in 82% of IR engagements -
suggesting the prevalence of increasingly sophisticated, often
nation-state attackers, who have the resources and cyber savvy to
colonize victims' networks. Destructive attacks, which are often the
final stage of counter IR have also surged, with respondents estimating
victims experience them 54% of the time.
- 55% of cyberattacks target the victim's digital infrastructure for the purpose of island hopping. The
pandemic has left organizations increasingly vulnerable to such attacks
as their employees shift to remote work - and less secure home networks
and devices.
- Custom malware is now being used in 50% of attacks reported by respondents. This demonstrates the scale of the dark web,
where such malware and malware services can be purchased to empower
traditional criminals, spies and terrorists, many of whom do not have
the sophisticated resources to execute these attacks.
- As
we approach the presidential election, cybersecurity remains a top
concern and nation-state attackers pose a significant threat. Drawing
upon their security expertise - and in line with recent advisories from
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) -
73% of respondents believe there will be foreign influence on the 2020
U.S. presidential election, and 60% believe it will be influenced by a
cyberattack.
For
more on the evolving threat landscape and best practices for IR and
security teams looking to fight back, download the full report here.