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Enterprise Security Magazine | Monday, March 07, 2022
Cybercriminals have stepped up supply chain and ransomware attacks on affected businesses, taking advantage of the opportunity by purchasing ransomware-as-a-service tools on the dark web
FREMONT, CA: As soon as people thought COVID-19 couldn't possibly make the cyber risk environment any worse, the global pandemic in 2021 caused a supply chain shock. Materials shortages, clogged ports, and overcrowded terminals have all been exacerbated by a lack of containers and pallets. Manufacturers, merchants, and consumers have all experienced disruptions as a result of a shortage of truck drivers and other shortages. Cybercriminals have stepped up supply chain and ransomware attacks on affected businesses, taking advantage of the opportunity by purchasing ransomware-as-a-service tools on the dark web.
Many cyber criminals do not break into systems; instead, they use weak, stolen, or default passwords. According to Verizon's 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, 85 percent of data breaches had a human component, with many focusing on social engineering such as email phishing scams. Malicious emails increased by 600 percent during the pandemic, according to the U.N. Therefore, 2022 will demand stronger requirements around access controls, security measures designed to regulate who can view or use specific computing resources, particularly from remote locations. The classic adage of cyber security has always been Trust, but verify.
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However, lately trust has been constantly abused, either through carelessness or malicious intent, which has fostered the spread of an opposing principle, never trust, always verify. Zero trust, which has been codified into a category of practices and technologies, the default position is that those who do not have their identity authenticated and have been explicitly granted system admission are denied access. In some way, Zero trust is an evolution of the principle of least privilege, where users only get access to what they need to complete a task and only for the time it takes to get it done. Zero trust precautions require extra authentication using several factors, such as fingerprint or facial scans, after initial authentication and restrict the user from any apps or services for which they do not have permission. Even if a criminal is able to get access to the system, lateral attack movement may be blocked.
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