2021 was a year of challenge and
novelty and there always are those who adapt and manage change to their
advantage quickly – cybercriminals. Since most of them are motivated by money,
financial threats have always been one of the most significant parts of the
threat landscape. Pondering on the significant events and trends that shaped
the financial threats’ sector in 2021, Kaspersky researchers have forecasted
several important tendencies expected to occur in 2022. Here are their key
predictions:
- Targeted cryptocurrency attacks will grow. As
cryptocurrency is a digital asset and all transactions take place online,
it offers anonymity to users. These are attractive features for cybercrime
groups. However, it’s not only cybercriminal organisations but
state-sponsored threat actors who have targeted this industry. We have
already witnessed APT groups rising to attack the cryptocurrency business aggressively,
and we anticipate that this activity will continue.
- Flawed security and fake hardware wallets as
crypto hardware-based threats. While cryptocurrency
attacks are becoming more targeted, cybercriminals keep coming up with new
ways to steal investors' financial assets. In the case of cryptocurrency
investment opportunities, Kaspersky researchers conclude that
cybercriminals will take advantage of manufacturing and retailing rogue
devices with backdoors, followed by social engineering campaigns and other
techniques to steal victims' financial assets.
- Infostealers acceleration and consolidation. Simplicity, affordability, and effectiveness in
attacks will play a key role in adopting infostealers against financial assets,
at least as a first-stage data collector. Different threat actors will take
advantage of it to profile victims for further attacks. It includes but is not
limited to targeted Ransomware attacks, traditional targeted attacks, and
others.
- Mobile
implants development consolidation. Pandemic
stimulated mobile banking, which also has become more mature. Kaspersky
experts expect more mobile banking Trojans for the Android platform,
especially RATs that can circumvent security means adopted by banks (such
as OTP and MFA). Local, regional Android implant projects will move
globally, exporting attacks to Western Europe and other countries
worldwide.
"This
year has been challenging for many organisations: handling remote access for
ad-hoc employees, patching hard systems connected to the Internet to endure
ransomware attacks, dealing with a substantial increase of mobile banking and
its malware implants. And cybercriminals have not been shy of taking advantage
of attacking markets. We have watched very regional cybercriminals
shifting to other world regions making cybersecurity people work harder.
Therefore, it is crucial to establish the principal leaning in a developing
landscape of financial threats and share our expertise to help businesses
become prepared, so they understand how to protect from before-mentioned
threats,' says Dmitry Bestuzhev, head of Kaspersky’s
Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) in Latin America.
To learn more about what’s to come
next year, join our free webinar, where Kaspersky researchers together with our guest speakers – Angelo La Penna, CISO
at Swiss Re and Anichses Moraes, cyber-evangelist at C6 Bank – will share their
take on the financial threats we have seen in 2021 and what may lie ahead in
2022. The webinar will take place on November 23 at 2pm GMT. Register here for free.
Financial predictions are part of Kaspersky’s Vertical
Threat Predictions for 2022, one of the segments of the Kaspersky Security
Bulletin (KSB) – an annual series of predictions and analytical reports on key
shifts in the cybersecurity world. Follow this link to
look at other KSB pieces.
To review what Kaspersky experts expected to see in
2021, please follow this
link.
Financial systems jeopardised, infostealers on the rise and more cryptocurrency attacks: a look at financial threats in 2022
KasperskyIn 2022, we will observe state-sponsored groups targeting the cryptocurrency industry, while cybercriminals will take advantage of investors by fabricating rogue wallet with backdoors included. On top of that, we are likely to witness the growth of attacks against payment systems and more advanced mobile threats. These are the key predictions from Kaspersky’s ‘Cyberthreats to Financial Organisations in 2022’ report