Cybercriminals Manipulate Reality via Integrity and Destructive Attacks, VMware Report Finds
02 August 2021 - 8:00PM
Business Wire
Defenders fight back against weaponization of
new technologies, industrialization of e-crime, and burnout
At Black Hat USA 2021, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) released its
seventh annual Global Incident Response Threat Report, which
analyzes how attackers are manipulating reality to reshape the
modern threat landscape. The report found a drastic rise in
destructive attacks, where adversaries deploy advanced techniques
to deliver more targeted, sophisticated attacks that distort
digital reality, be it via business communications compromise (BCC)
or the manipulation of time.
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“Today, we’re seeing a nexus between nation-states and
cybercriminals continue to rapidly advance the development of
increasingly sophisticated and destructive cyberattacks, combined
with the broadening of the attack surface as a result of COVID-19,”
says Tom Kellermann, head of cybersecurity strategy, VMware. “The
digital and physical worlds have converged, and everything can be
manipulated by modern-day attackers. The reality is that first
adopters of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence
and machine learning, are often cybercriminals on the dark web and
in nation-states intelligence communities.”
Defenders are struggling to counter these complex attacks and
gain visibility into new environments, such as the cloud,
containers, and business communication applications. The report
found that defenders are also grappling with mental health concerns
and heightened job expectations, with 51% experiencing extreme
stress or burnout over the past year.
“Burnout is a huge issue with incident response teams, who are
handling a spike in engagements in what is still a largely remote
environment,” says Rick McElroy, principal cybersecurity strategist
at VMware. “It only further underscores the need for leaders to
build resilient teams, whether that means considering rotations of
work, empowering individuals to take mental health days, or any
number of other initiatives aimed at nurturing personal growth and
development.”
Additional key findings from the 2021 Global Incident Response
Threat Report include:
- The nexus between nation-states and e-crime heightens the
threat landscape and exploit vulnerabilities: Among those who
have encountered ransomware attacks in the past year, 64% witnessed
affiliate programs and/or partnerships between ransomware groups.
Defenders are also looking for new ways to fight back: 81% said
they are willing to leverage active defense in the next 12
months.
- Advanced techniques are being used to make attacks more
destructive and targeted: Respondents indicate that targeted
victims now experience destructive/integrity attacks more than 50%
of the time. Cybercriminals are achieving this through emerging
techniques, like the manipulation of time stamps, or Chronos
attacks, which nearly 60% of respondents have observed. Catalyzed
by the shift to remote work, 32% of respondents also experienced
adversaries leveraging business communication platforms to move
around a given environment and launch sophisticated attacks.
- With cloud-jacking on the rise, cloud security remains a top
priority: Following the rush to cloud technology amid the
pandemic, cybercriminals have continued to exploit these
environments. Nearly half (43%) of respondents said more than a
third of attacks were targeted at cloud workloads, with almost a
quarter (22%) saying more than half were. For this reason, 6 in 10
respondents said cloud security tools are their top priority to
implement.
For more information on the evolving threat landscape as well as
actionable guidance and recommendations for incident responders and
security teams, download the full report here.
Methodology
VMware conducted an online survey about trends in the incident
response landscape in May and June 2021, with 123 cybersecurity and
incident response professionals from around the world participating
in the study. Percentages in certain questions exceed 100% because
respondents were asked to check all that apply. Due to rounding,
percentages used in all questions may not add up to 100%.
VMware at Black Hat USA 2021
VMware will discuss the findings from this report and other key
security topics in the virtual sessions listed below. Visit our
virtual Black Hat USA 2021 booth, and follow along with us on
social @VMwareNews and in the VMware Newsroom.
Exposing Vulnerabilities in Kubernetes Wednesday, August 4 at
8:00 am PT Daniel Shapira, senior staff researcher
Enemy Inside the Gates: 2020 Threat Landscape Key Findings
Wednesday, August 4 at 10:50 AM PT Chad Skipper, global security
technologist Giovanni Vigna, senior director of threat
intelligence
Disrupting Ransomware and Dismantling the Cybercrime Ecosystem
Wednesday, August 4 at 1:10 pm PT Tom Kellermann, head of
cybersecurity strategy Rick McElroy, principal cybersecurity
strategist
Symbexcel: Bringing the Power of Symbolic Execution to the Fight
Against Malicious Excel 4 Macros Wednesday, August 4 at 1:30 pm PT
Giovanni Vigna, senior director of threat intelligence Stafano
Ortolani, threat researcher
Security Hygiene for DevOps Thursday, August 5 at 10:50 am PT
Ram Akuka, product manager, Security Business Unit David Zendzian,
global field CISO, VMware Tanzu
Exposing Vulnerabilities in Kubernetes On-demand Daniel Shapira,
senior staff researcher
About VMware
VMware software powers the world’s complex digital
infrastructure. The company’s cloud, app modernization, networking,
security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver
any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in
Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for
good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global
impact. For more information, please visit
https://www.vmware.com/company.html
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Kerry Tuttle VMware Global Communications ktuttle@vmware.com
(470) 247-1987
Jessica Bettencourt Inkhouse jbettencourt@inkhouse.com (774)
451-5142
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