Page 96 - Cyber Defense eMagazine January 2023

redundant tooling, in addition to controlling cloud spend, to manage high operational costs and complex
integrations.

I think this is a good time to remind organizations that zero trust is simply a security framework, not a
tool. It is not a ‘single solution,’ but rather a framework used to secure data in a modern digital enterprise.
Zero trust is also not overhyped, despite some opinions to the contrary. It has become a critical step
towards mitigating cyber risk, detecting malicious behavior, and responding to security incidents. By
requiring users and devices to be authenticated, authorized, and continuously monitored for a ‘trusted’
security posture before access is granted, zero trust can contain threats and limit business impacts when
a breach does occur.”

Credential-based attacks and evolving threats:

“We’ve seen the classic Cat and Mouse Game before: as credential-based attacks evolve, so too do
cyber defenses. Threat actors will continue to leverage tried and true methods like social engineering,
initial access brokers, and information stealer tools to carry out their objectives. Where multi-factor
authentication stands in the way of compromising an account with stolen credentials, we can expect
cyberthreat actors to implement new techniques to bypass this particular layer of defense. I think this will
lead to an expansion of passwordless authentication solutions, to combat the attackers.

We can also expect to see more malicious attacks, as anyone can play this game. A broader set of threat
actors will join in to conduct cyber operations in 2023. They have financial motivation, government
mandates to justify their cause, not to mention bragging rights that increasingly attract a younger group
of threat actors.”

Protecting brand as much as infrastructure:

“During the past year, we witnessed several high-profile breaches, where organizations suffered severe
brand damage. This resulted in a shift from data recovery to reputation management when faced with a
ransom. I expect to see threat actors shift their strategies to exploit this fear through extortion vs.
ransomware in the year ahead.

Further, threat actors will continue to take advantage of weaknesses in the software supply chain, which
will become the number one threat vector in 2023. Organizations should create a vendor risk
management plan, thoroughly vet third-parties and require accountability, to remain vigilant and align to
cybersecurity best practices. This is critical too, as cyber insurance claims have exploded. We can expect
to see insurance companies lowering their risk appetite and reducing client coverage in 2023. If your
organization is in the market for a policy, expect to pay a hefty premium, or face a rigorous review of the
organization’s security posture, as insurance companies increase their due diligence to avoid liability.”

Cyber Defense eMagazine – January 2023 Edition 96
Copyright © 2023, Cyber Defense Magazine. All rights reserved worldwide.