data extortion
Data extortion is the use of ransomware to make data on a compromised computer unusable, and the attackers then offer a way to recover the data and demand a ransom; or the hacker creates a copy of the data and then threatens to release it publicly unless the organization or The individual pays the ransom.
In 2021, data extortion will become the protagonist of global cyber attacks, causing major harms such as leakage of confidential data and paralysis of social systems to many countries, seriously threatening national security. For example, Colonial, the largest oil pipeline operator in the United States, suffered a ransomware attack on May 7 and was forced to shut down its critical fuel network that supplies oil to the eastern coastal states of the United States. This has greatly affected the supply of energy such as fuel oil on the east coast of the United States, and the US government has declared a national emergency.
The threat of ransomware has grown significantly over the past decade and will continue to show an upward trend in 2022. The reason is simple, the ransomware business is too lucrative unless it fundamentally changes the cost-benefit structure of attackers.
app fraud
Authorized push payment fraud, which is harder to identify and prevent in real time, is on the rise every day.
Researchers at Czech security and antivirus company Avis found that the fraudulent apps werecell phoneA big problem with the app store. Such apps often lure customers with free trials as an excuse, then ask users to pay thousands of dollars a year for subscriptions, and users are even charged after the offending app is removed.
Evis said that inappleAnd Google’s App Store, there are about 200 such software applications that are expected to generate more than $400 million in benefits. In addition, in January this year, a study by British security software company Sophos found that from the Google Play Store alone, such apps have been installed nearly 600 million times on more than 100 million devices.
Currently, regulators “stand in line” with financial institutions, putting the onus on consumers. Tech companies need to quickly develop plans to prevent the loss of customer funds.
API attack
Application programming interfaces (APIs) are the core of inter-application communication and are a key component of modern mobile and web applications, providing access to third-party authentication and data sources, such as when we view the weather app, we need to extract data through the API .
As a lightweight technology, API is highly favored by enterprises around the world, and application interfaces show explosive growth. Compared with 2019, API traffic in 2020 has increased by 2.8 times year-on-year, but its security risk has become the primary issue facing enterprises, and challenges such as authentication, authorization, and accidental leakage or data leakage follow one after another.
Gartner has predicted that by 2022, API abuse will be the most common attack vector for data breaches in enterprise web applications.
man-in-the-middle attack
A man-in-the-middle attack is an “indirect” intrusion attack, in which a computer controlled by an intruder is placed virtually as a “man-in-the-middle” between two communicating computers in a network connection through various technical means. In short, the so-called man-in-the-middle attack is to intercept normal network communication data, and perform data tampering and sniffing without the knowledge of both parties. The man-in-the-middle attack has become the most threatening and destructive attack method for online banking, online games, and online transactions. Technology companies should protect their employees from man-in-the-middle attacks through cryptographic security and VPN protocols.
Lack of spectrum network backup
According to foreign media reports, on the morning of July 8, local time, Rogers Telecom, one of the three major telecom operators in Canada, suffered a large-scale network outage. This major network failure lasted for nearly a day, causing millions of users to be unable to access the Internet and make phone calls. Some bank payments, and even the networks of hospitals and 911 alarm systems were also affected.
Coincidentally, just a week before the accident in Canada, a nationwide communication failure occurred in Japan, which lasted for more than 2 days and became a major accident. According to the Japan Broadcasting Association, Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI announced that the company experienced a large-scale communication failure across Japan in the early morning of August 2, local time, and the network was fully restored after a lapse of 86 hours.
What are the main reasons for these major accidents? “Forbes” website pointed out that there is no backup system to deal with these major problems, regulators need to ensure that communication companies have a backup, or should revoke their spectrum licenses.
Insecure IoT Devices
Cyber threats to IoT devices are getting the attention of technology leaders and cybersecurity companies.
In July 2020, a research team from Princeton University in the United States released a report that thousands of connected but attackable home appliances (such asair conditioner、hot waterIt can form a “botnet”, which will lead to a serious shortage of power supply in the power grid and lead to the occurrence of large-scale power outages.
The study also highlights: “Unsecure IoT devices can have devastating consequences that far outweigh the loss of personal security/privacy. We need tight control over IoT device security, including regulatory frameworks.”
The Forbes website also points out that people need to be very concerned about API vulnerabilities and protocols for sharing data between devices and mobile applications.