Darktrace Reports Information Technology and Communications Sector Most Targeted by Cyber Attackers in 2021
PR93631
CAMBRIDGE, England, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire＝KY JBNJBN/--
-- Most targeted industry shifts from the financial and insurance sector in 2020
Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security AI, today reported that the
information technology (IT) and communications sector was the most targeted
industry globally in 2021, as uncovered by Darktrace's security researchers.
Darktrace's data is developed by 'early indicator analysis' that looks at the
breadcrumbs of potential cyber-attacks at several stages before they are
attributed to any particular actor and before they escalate into a full-blown
crisis. Darktrace's findings show that its artificial intelligence autonomously
interrupted an average of 150,000 threats per week against the sector in 2021.
The IT and communications sector includes telecommunications providers,
software developers, and managed security service providers, amongst others.
Darktrace also defends several backup vendors and has observed a growing trend
of hackers targeting backup servers in an attempt to deliberately disable or
corrupt backup files by deleting a single index file that would render all
backups inaccessible. Attackers could then launch ransomware attacks against
the clients of the backup vendor, preventing recovery and forcing payment.
In 2020, the most attacked industry across Darktrace's global customer base was
the financial and insurance sector, showing that cyber-criminals have shifted
their focus over the last 12 months.
"Over the last 12 months, it is clear that attackers are relentlessly trying to
access the networks of trusted suppliers in the IT and communications sector.
Quite simply, it is a better return on investment than, for example, going
after one company in the financial services sector. SolarWinds and Kaseya are
just two well-known and recent examples of this. Sadly, there is likely to be
more in the near term," commented Justin Fier, Darktrace Director for Cyber
Intelligence and Analysis.
The findings of this research mark one year since the compromise of U.S.
software company SolarWinds rattled the security industry. This landmark
supply-chain attack made thousands of organizations vulnerable to infiltration
by inserting malicious code into the Orion system. Over the last 12 months,
there has been a continued spate of attacks against the IT and communications
sector, including the high-profile attacks on Kaseya and Gitlab.
Threat actors often use software and developer platforms as entry points into
other high-value targets, including governments and authorities, large
corporations, and critical infrastructure. Darktrace found that the most common
attempted break-in method was through email, with organizations in the sector
receiving an average of 600 unique phishing campaigns a month in 2021. Contrary
to popular belief, the emails sent to these organizations did not contain a
malicious payload hidden in a link or attachment. Instead, cyber-criminals used
subtle and sophisticated techniques sending 'clean emails' containing only text
attempting to coax recipients into replying and revealing sensitive
information. This method is effective because, by compromising these email
accounts, hackers can then exploit the trusted relationship between the
software supplier and the intended targets.
These methods easily bypass legacy security tools that rely on checking links
and attachments against blocklists and signatures. AI can stop these emails
from reaching employees' inboxes by identifying the full range of anomalies,
including even the most subtle indicators.
"The reality is that attackers are patient and creative. They will usually go
right through the front door by compromising trusted suppliers in the IT and
communications industry. To downstream customers, it appears as business as
usual and is just another application or piece of hardware from a trusted
supplier," continued Fier. "There is no magic solution to finding attacks
embedded in your software suppliers, so the real challenge for organizations
will be to operate while accepting this risk. Getting a sense of what is normal
for the software you are trusting will be paramount. AI is perfectly suited for
this job; spotting the subtle changes presented by a piece of software that has
been compromised will be key to fighting this problem in the future."
About Darktrace
Darktrace (
) (DARK.L), a global leader in cyber security AI, delivers world-class
technology that protects almost 6,000 customers worldwide from advanced
threats, including ransomware (
), and cloud (
) and SaaS (
) attacks. The company's fundamentally different approach applies Self-Learning
AI (
) to enable machines to understand the business in order to autonomously defend
it. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, the company has 1,600 employees and over 30
offices worldwide. Darktrace was named one of TIME magazine's 'Most Influential
Companies' for 2021.
SOURCE: Darktrace
CONTACT: Nikhol Hui
Brands2Life (UK), +44-(0)7908-714331, darktrace@brands2life.com;
Bryce Tom
Rubenstein (US), +1-917-733-9494, darktrace@rubenstein.com
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