A year of chaos and cyberattacks is passing. What awaits the world, people and companies in the field of cyber security in 2021 is wondering. Stating that hackers will act with innovative cyber attacks in 2021 and beyond, WatchGuard Technologies lists the cyber security predictions for 2021.
Many cyber attacks took place in the world, which has left 2020 behind in a global pandemic. It is anticipated that especially companies that switch to remote working system from secure corporate networks quickly and uncontrolled, and hackers who take their employees on the target boards will perform more advanced and automation-heavy attacks in 2021. WatchGuard Technologies, a leading global provider of network security and intelligence, secure Wi-Fi, advanced endpoint security and multi-factor authentication, shares 2021 cybersecurity predictions for 8, ranging from human emotions to smart home devices and corporate goals.
1. Automation will drive spear phishing campaigns. Phishing or phishing attacks targeted at a specific group, company or individual is a form of high return attack for hackers, but it takes a long time. This situation will change in 2021. Next year, automation will help cybercriminals launch spear phishing attacks at record volumes. Attackers will leverage new automation tools to simplify the manual aspects of creating these campaigns and pull data specific to their victim. All of this will contribute to customized, credible phishing emails distributed in bulk.
2. Hackers will invade home networks with worms. The home-based workforce age will continue in 2021 and beyond. Cybercriminals will create attacks that specifically target workers from home. In 2021, attackers will develop their malware with worm functionality not only to spread to home networks, but also to search for connected devices that demonstrate corporate use. Attackers plan to compromise corporate networks by deliberately searching for and infecting company-owned laptops and smart devices on our home networks.
3. Booby-trapped smart chargers will lead to the hacking of smart vehicles. As smart car popularity continues to grow, 2021 will be the year when we see security researchers and hackers identify and demonstrate a major vulnerability in a smart car charger. Smart car chargers have a data component that helps them manage charging safely. In the world of cell phones, researchers and hackers have proven they can create booby-trapped chargers that take advantage of any victim that gets plugged in. This means that they will also be encountered in vehicles this year.
4. User revolt against smart device security will rise. In 2021, consumers will begin to fully understand the privacy concerns associated with smart devices and will begin to advocate for legislators to regulate IoT technology companies to better protect their user data. The reason for this tipping point is seen as the cumulative deterioration of privacy brought by the numerous IoT devices that have entered our lives in recent years.
5. As remote work increases, attackers will attack VPNs and RDPs. Working from home has become the norm for many companies and has changed the profile of the software and services the average company uses. While many companies previously made little use of both Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Virtual Private Network (VPN) solutions, these services have become the mainstay in enabling employees to access corporate data and services outside of the traditional network environment. In 2021, attackers are expected to significantly increase their attacks on RDP, VPN and other remote access services.
6. Attackers will detect vulnerabilities in legacy endpoints. Endpoints have become a high priority target for attackers amidst the global pandemic. With more employees working at home without some of the network-based protections provided through the corporate office, attackers will focus on vulnerabilities in personal computers, software and operating systems. Windows 7 users, whose update support has ended, will have the biggest share in this.
7. Any service without MFA will be violated. Authentication attacks and data breaches that feed them have become a daily occurrence. Cybercriminals have had incredible success using stolen usernames and passwords found on underground forums with password blown and credential stuffing attacks. These attacks consist of the fact that many users cannot choose strong and unique passwords for each account. Currently, there are billions of usernames and passwords on the Dark Web due to various breaches. For this reason, it seems that any service that does not have MFA enabled will be compromised in 2021.
8. Cloud Hosting providers will eventually begin to prevent hackers' cyber abuse. Most Cloud Hosting services offer internet accessible data storage where users can upload anything they want, from database backups to individual files and more. Many of them are also served with subdomains and URL paths. Threat actors, on the other hand, exploited this to access the identity information of their victims. 2021 will be the year when Cloud Hosting providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft will finally begin to block phishing and other malicious activity that abuses their reputation and services.
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