Cyberspace Security Into Deep Waters in 2022: Mobile Devices Suffer Space Hackers Appear

According to an article titled "Cybersecurity Predictions 2022: Space Hackers and More Vulnerable Mobile Phones" published on december 14, 2021, the U.S. cybersecurity program provider WatchGuard conducted a drill related to the security headlines we might see in 2022, and analyzed how hackers will get into space and what threats mobile devices will face. How cyber insurance and Zero Trust security architectures will evolve. The full text is excerpted below:

Walkie Defender noted that because of the capabilities of the devices and the information they contain, mobile devices are very attractive targets for cybersecurity teams in various countries.

Some countries will fund cybersecurity companies to develop malware that targets mobile terminals, such as the recent emergence of Pegasus spyware.

Like the Stuxnet virus of the year, when these spyware software is leaked, cybercriminal organizations learn from them and replicate attack techniques. As a result, In its predictions for 2022, Walkers Defenders noted that sophisticated mobile cyberattacks by cybercriminals will increase.

Space is also not safe

Walkers also believes that space hacking will occur next year due to the growing interest of governments and the private sector in the space race, as well as the recent focus of cybersecurity research on satellite vulnerabilities.

Although it appears that the satellite may be beyond the scope of most threats, the researchers found that hackers can use a device worth about $300 to communicate with the satellite. In addition, older satellites may not have paid attention to modern security controls.

At the same time, many private companies have begun their space race, which will greatly increase the range of attacks in orbit, just as the problems faced by the thousands of satellites launched by the Interstellar Connections program for its internet service.

SMS phishing is rampant

SMS-based phishing has been on the rise in recent years. Like the social engineering of email, it started with sending untargeted decoy messages to a large number of users, but has recently evolved into more targeted text messages and masquerades as messages from users' acquaintances.

At the same time, text messaging platforms are constantly evolving. Users, especially professionals, have become aware of the insecurity of unencrypted text messaging, which has prompted them to transfer business text messaging to other apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and even Teams or Slack, among others.

Wherever legitimate users go, cybercriminals follow closely. As a result, we're starting to see more and more people sending messages like spear sms phishing to social platforms like WhatsApp. According to Walkie Guardian's predictions, targeted phishing messages on social platforms will double by 2022.

Passwords are disappearing

The trend towards digital verification will lead to the disappearance of passwords, just as it already appears in Windows systems. For Walkers Defender, however, the operating system's one-factor authentication mechanism is the wrong option, "just repeating the mistakes of the past."

Windows 10 and 11 systems already allow users to authenticate completely password-free using options such as Hello (Microsoft's biometrics), Fido hardware tokens, or emails with one-time passwords.

In this case, Walkers defender believes that the only reliable digital authentication solution is multi-factor authentication. Microsoft (and other companies) could have easily solved this problem by enforcing multi-factor authentication on Windows. Hello can still be used as an authentication tool, but businesses should force users to use it with another authentication mechanism, such as sending push approval to the phone over an encrypted channel.

Walkers Guardian predicts that Windows passwordless authentication will be widely used in 2022, but expects hackers and researchers to find ways to bypass it.

Zero Trust architecture

Cybersecurity insurers have found an increase in the costs they pay to protect customers from threats posed by "ransomware." In fact, according to a report by S&P Global, the loss rate of online insurance companies increased by 25 percentage points for the third consecutive year in 2020. This resulted in premiums for standalone online policies increasing by 28.6% to $1.62 billion in 2020.

As a result, these insurers have increased their cybersecurity requirements for their customers. They often proactively check and test the security of their customers before offering cybersecurity-related insurance. This approach will push businesses to adopt new approaches to strengthening cyber defenses in 2022.

On the other hand, the "Zero Trust" information security architecture has gained more recognition. It basically boils down to: assume that an attacker has already threatened an enterprise's digital assets or users, and then design the enterprise's network and security in a way that limits the attacker's ability to move laterally to more critical systems.

Walkers points out that while this approach may sound trendy, it's based on long-standing security principles such as strong authentication and the philosophy of least privilege. By 2022, most businesses will adopt some of the oldest security concepts in their networks, the so-called "Zero Trust" security architecture.

Source: Reference News Network