Cybercriminal groups old and new have inundated the security landscape with one major attack after another in 2021. To give some realistic expectations of what’s to come for the industry in 2022, Digital Journal caught up with James Carder, Chief Security Officer & Vice President of LogRhythm Labs.
Carder predicts that a leading country producing semiconductor chips will have its supply-chain compromised, resulting in major shortages of critical materials. This will add to the supply chain pressures experienced by the industry during 2021. The analyst also looks at API vulnerabilities and the risks to the Beijing Olympics.
Computer chips
Carder opens with his computer chip concerns, noting: “A leading country producing semiconductor chips will have its supply-chain compromised, resulting in major shortages of critical materials.”
This issue is likely to coincide with cybersecurity issues, predicts Carder: “As we have seen with the pandemic, cybercriminals will take advantage of periods of societal disruption to manipulate companies and governments for financial gain.”
He adds that: “The global chip shortage, which shows no sign of slowing down as some experts estimate it could last through the end of 2022, is another period of disruption that hackers will soon exploit. As countries seek to ramp up production, one country will be caught attempting to corner the market by using fraudulent methods to gain access to the production and supply of the leading chip-producing countries. This will result in shortages of critical supplies, as well as soaring prices for basic goods.”
More ransomware
Carder also fears that the supply chain of a major vaccine manufacturer will be halted by ransomware. This is because this sector would become a focal point for rogue actors (even rogue states). Carder is of the view that as: “In 2021, ransomware attacks crippled Colonial Pipeline and JBS”, then “in 2022, cybercriminals will set their sights on carrying out a ransomware attack against one of the pharmaceutical companies producing the COVID-19 vaccine. This will interrupt the production of critical booster shots and keep many other lifesaving drugs from reaching patients. The resulting fallout will fan the flame for foreign and domestic vaccine disinformation campaigns.”
Exposing API vulnerabilities
Carder is also concerned that cybercriminals will leverage API vulnerabilities to breach multiple company networks at once. By this, the expert fears: “Cyberattackers commonly use lateral movement techniques to move through an organization’s network after carrying out the initial breach. We have already seen the Russia-linked REvil ransomware-as-a-service group leverage Kaseya’s network management and remote-control software to move not only within Kaseya’s network but extend its reach to its customers. In 2022, we will see hackers seek to up-level the lateral movement concept for internal networks and apply it to an entire partner network using misconfigured APIs, which serve as a doorway from the internet into a company’s environment.”
Disrupting the Olympics
Carder’s final concern is with hackers blackmailing Olympic athletes during the Beijing Olympics. Here he puts forward: “Hackers will breach various athletes’ accounts and find incriminating email exchanges regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs and insight into the individual’s personal life. This will result in athletes being blackmailed into helping hackers carry out cyberattacks on their home countries or face the release of incriminating evidence.”
