Zscaler’s 2021 Encrypted Attacks Report Reveals 314 Percent Spike in HTTPS Threats - Seite 2

Cybercrime at an all-time high
Between January 2021 and September 2021, Zscaler blocked more than 20 billion threats over HTTPS, increasing more than 314 percent from the previous year. Cybercriminals are getting increasingly savvy with their attacks and have benefited from affiliated networks and malware-as-a-service tools available on the dark web.

While cybercriminals can use various attack types to hide in encrypted traffic, malicious content represented a staggering 91 percent of attacks, a 212 percent increase over last year. In contrast, cryptomining malware is down 20 percent, reflecting a broader shift in the attack trends, with ransomware becoming a more lucrative option.

Tech industry under siege
The report found that attacks on tech, retail, and wholesale companies saw a significant increase in threats. Attacks on technology companies increased by a staggering 2,300 percent, and retail and wholesale saw attacks increase by over 800 percent. As more retailers offer digital shopping options during the 2021 holiday shopping season, cybercriminals are expected to be targeting more ecommerce solutions and digital payment platforms with malware and ransomware attacks. This has been exacerbated by the sudden need to support remote workers with remote connectivity to teleconferencing, SaaS-based apps, and public cloud workloads.

Tech companies are also an attractive target due to their role in the supply chain. A successful supply-chain attack like Kaseya and SolarWinds can give attackers access to a trove of user information. Additionally, as the world begins its return to normal, and as businesses and public events are opening up around the globe, many employees are still working in relatively insecure environments. Getting access to critical point-of-sale systems is extremely attractive to cybercriminals as it opens the door to huge profits.

Critical services see a decline
After being a top target in 2020, attacks on healthcare organizations decreased by 27 percent in 2021. Similarly, attacks on government organizations decreased by 10 percent. Ransomware attacks that targeted critical services, including the Colonial Pipeline attack and the ransomware attack on the Health Services Executive of Ireland, have caught the attention of the highest levels of law enforcement, including the White House, which recently signed an Executive Order to improve the nation's cybersecurity.