Kaspersky researchers have shared their vision on Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) in 2021, laying out how the landscape of targeted attacks will change in the coming months. The forecast was developed based on the changes that Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) witnessed during 2020 and have been published to support the cybersecurity community with some guidelines and insights. *Global APT Threats
- APT threat actors will buy initial network access from cybercriminals: One of the key, and potentially most dangerous, trends that Kaspersky researchers anticipate is the change in threat actors’ approach to the execution of attacks.
- More countries using legal indictments as part of their cyber-strategy: Kaspersky’s previous predictions of ‘naming and shaming’ of APT attacks carried out by hostile parties has come true, and more organizations will follow suit.
- More Silicon Valley companies will take action against zero-day brokers: Following the scandalous cases where zero-day vulnerabilities in popular apps were exploited for espionage on a variety of different targets, more Silicon Valley corporations are likely to take a stance against zero-day brokers in an effort to protect their customers and reputation.
- Increased targeting of network appliances: With remote work, organizational security has become a priority, and more interest towards exploiting network appliances such as VPN gateways will emerge.
- Demanding money “with menaces”: Changes in ransomware gangs’ strategy is leading to the consolidation of a still diverse but rather tight ransomware eco-system.
- More disruptive attacks: will result from a directed orchestrated attack designed to affect critical infrastructure or collateral damage—as our lives have become even more dependent on technology with a much wider attack surface than ever before.
- The emergence of 5G vulnerabilities: As adoption of this technology increases, and more devices become dependent on the connectivity it provides, attackers will have a greater incentive to look for vulnerabilities that they can exploit.
- Attackers will continue to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic: While it did not prompt changes in tactics, techniques and procedures of the threat actors, the virus has become a persistent topic of interest.
*Cybersecurity Predictions for India in 2021
- Cyber Frauds: India’s digital economy is expected to grow at a faster rate and as per the recent BCG Group and Google study that said in five years, India’s digital payment itself is going to become USD 500 billion industry.
- Healthcare sector: Indian has been digitizing its healthcare sector under the National Digital Health Mission The platform includes the following key feature health ID, Health Facility Registry (HFR), Personal Health Records (PHR), Electronic Medical Records, Digi-Doctor and it will also include e-pharmacy and telemedicine services. During the COVID-19 national emergency, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shared Telemedicine Practice Guidelines on March 25 2020 to enable Registered Medical Practitioners to Provide Healthcare Using Telemedicine.
- Digitization of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs): Lockdown has made many businesses go digital and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are no exception. The MSMEs have to ensure that this change has to be smooth.
- Ransomware Attacks: We already mention in our 2020 predictions that ransomware will go from ransomware to targeted ransomware and we have seen a rise in this prediction during COVID-19 pandemic.
“The amount and complexity of changes we have witnessed that have affected the cyberthreat environment could dictate many scenarios for what is to come ahead. Furthermore, there are no threat research teams in the world that have full visibility of the operations of APT threat actors. What matters here is to follow the situation closely and always be ready to react, and we are confident in doing so,” says David Emm, principal security researcher at Kaspersky.
