A report from Nozomi Networks Labs found that cyber threats are growing at an alarming rate. Attacks are driven largely by the emergence of Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) gangs that are cashing in on critical infrastructure organisations. Analysis of rising vulnerabilities found critical manufacturing was the most susceptible industry, while a deep dive into IoT security cameras highlights how quickly the attack surface is expanding.
“Colonial Pipeline, JBS and the latest Kaseya software supply chain attack are painful lessons that the threat of ransomware attacks is real,” Moreno Carullo, co-founder of Nozomi Networks, said. “Security professionals must be armed with network security and visibility solutions that incorporate real time threat intelligence and make it possible to quickly respond with actionable recommendations and plans. Understanding how these criminal organisations work and anticipating future attacks is critical as they defend against this unfortunate new normal.”
The report gives cybersecurity professionals an overview of the OT and IoT threats analysed by the company’s security research team. The report highlighted the growing dominance of RaaS models, with ICS-CERT vulnerabilities increasing 44 per cent in the first half of 2021. Vulnerabilities in the critical manufacturing sector rose by 148 per cent, with the top three industries affected included critical manufacturing, a group identified as multiple industries, and the energy sector.
With more than a billion CCTV cameras expected to be in production globally this year, insecure IoT security cameras are a growing concern. The report includes an analysis of the Verkada breach and security vulnerabilities in Reolink cameras and ThroughTek software
“As industrial organisations embrace digital transformation, those with a wait and see mindset are learning the hard way that they were not prepared for an attack,” Edgard Capdevielle, CEO of Nozomi Networks, said. “Threats may be on the rise, but technologies and practices to defeat them are available now. We encourage organisations to adopt a post-breach mindset pre-breach and strengthen their security and operational resiliency before it is too late.”
