Among all cyber breaches, ransomware threats project damages to exceed $30 billion by 2023

• Increasing complexity in IT continues to lead to breaches and compromises highlighting the need for more holistic approaches to Cyber Protection
• Ransomware remains the top threat to large and medium-sized businesses

Cyber breaches can be much more than a passing fright; they could alter the course of life for organizations, governments, and individuals as a result of the exposure of sensitive data.

Without due care, a small vulnerability could result in a significant data breach. Many people don’t pay enough attention to it since they are unaware of how common modern security threats operate. As a result, headlines concerning ransomware, cyberattacks, and data breaches continuously trickle into social media feeds.

To put things in perspective, Acronis, a leader in cyber security, just released its mid-year cyber threats report, which was put together by the company’s Cyber Protection Operation Centers. The report provides a detailed analysis of the cyber threat trends that the company’s experts are keeping an eye on. The research emphasizes how ransomware remains the top threat to large and medium-sized businesses, including government institutions, and emphasizes how excessive IT and infrastructure complexity results in an increase in attacks.

In the first half of 2022, almost half of all reported breaches featured credentials that were stolen, enabling phishing and ransomware activities. The results highlight the need for more comprehensive approaches to cybersecurity.

Cybercriminals’ preferred infection vectors are phishing and malicious emails, which they employ to collect credentials and other sensitive information. More than one-quarter (26.5%) of emails were delivered to the user’s inbox (not prohibited by Microsoft365) before being deleted by Acronis email protection. Nearly one percent of emails contain harmful links or attachments.

According to Candid Wüest, Acronis VP of Cyber Protection Research, modern cyber threats are continually changing and eluding conventional security methods. “Organizations of all sizes need a holistic approach to cybersecurity that integrates everything from anti-malware to email-security and vulnerability-assessment capabilities. Cybercriminals are becoming too sophisticated and the results of attacks too dire to leave it to single-layered approaches and point solutions,” he added.

The scale of cyber breaches

Attackers have homed in on several entryways to cloud-based networks as reliance on the cloud grows. The managed service providers (MSPs) and their network of SMB clients have come under increased scrutiny from cybercriminals, as have Linux operating systems. Companies must adapt as the threat landscape changes.

Ransomware is worsening, more so than expected:

• Ransomware gangs are causing significant harm, including Conti and Lapsus$.
• Lapsus$ stole 1 TB of data and exposed the login information for more than 70,000 NVIDIA users. The source code for T-Mobile was also stolen, 30 GB worth.

Cybercriminals are increasingly concentrating on cryptocurrencies and platforms for decentralized finance (DeFi). Hackers have gained access to both crypto exchanges and wallets by taking advantage of vulnerabilities in smart contracts or by phishing attacks or malware that steals recovery phrases and passwords.

• Since 2012, cyberattacks have caused more than $60 billion in DeFi currency to be lost.
• Of that, $44 billion disappeared in the previous year.

Acronis has noticed an increase in the number of cases when enterprises are being targeted numerous times, sometimes simultaneously, particularly in the APAC region. As a result, the threat environment is expanding, and this is becoming more and more significant.

Reports show ransomware affected 72% of APJ firms in 2021, up from 39% in 2020. In light of this, it’s critical that businesses routinely examine their cyber strategies and address any gaps.

Therefore, to support that approach, businesses increased their spending on their cybersecurity strategy. In the next five years, regional spending on security-related goods and services is expected to grow at a rate of 14.1% (CAGR), reaching US$ 39 billion by 2025, according to IDC research.

A multi-layered system that combines anti-malware, EDR, DLP, email security, vulnerability assessment, patch management, RMM, and backup capabilities is necessary given the current state of cybersecurity threats. Companies have a higher chance of avoiding cyberattacks, minimizing the risk from successful attacks, and keeping data that might have been changed or stolen as a result thanks to the integration of these numerous components.

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