Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1386104
68 I ICT TODAY SECURITY AFTER THE GREAT PIVOT Once the global pandemic hit, the new work-from- anywhere teams made it critical that security teams remain vigilant in performing the fundamentals of cybersecurity. With many organizations migrating to cloud centric architectures, they had to become more focused on implementing effective identity and device-based access controls. The Cyber Frontlines Report highlighted six various themes and gave some recommendations to protect companies and organizations in the future. These include the following: 4 THEME 1: Security in Sweatpants: How Widespread Remote Work Changes Security • Survey the battlefield. • Establish Zero Trust controls for critical systems and data. • Do not forget about controlling access and data within cloud environments. • Test operations with tailored exercises. THEME 2: Ransomware Actors Evolve Their Operations Ransomware with data extortion remains a lucrative tactic for eCrime adversaries to monetize their presence in a victim organization's network. • Build a bulletproof backup strategy. • Use multifactor authentication. • Implement next-generation endpoint protection. • Utilize a privileged account management solution. • Know when to ask for help. Additionally, the report identified a number of other key findings in 2020. Organizations should be mindful of the following: 3 • Widespread remote work has broad-reaching effects on cybersecurity. Networks around the world were turned inside out as office workers became remote workers, with dramatic effects on how attackers target organizations and how defenders must react. • Ransomware actors have learned new tricks. Not content with just encrypting data for extortion, eCrime actors are increasingly destroying and/or threatening to leak data, as they target ever-larger ransom payments. • Cloud infrastructure requires special attention from defenders. The global pandemic accelerated digital transformation—including cloud adoption—for many organizations, and attackers took advantage of this attack surface. Defending the cloud requires additional planning and focus beyond traditional on-premises networks. • Weaknesses in public-facing applications and services are increasingly dangerous. CrowdStrike observed significant increases in attackers targeting public-facing applications and services in 2020. Defenders must continue to be vigilant to ensure no exterior gaps exist for an adversary to use as an initial foothold. • State-sponsored adversaries leave smaller footprints. While eCrime actors got most of the headlines in 2020, state-sponsored adversaries remained active across a wide range of sectors. Detecting and stopping these sophisticated intrusions requires a well-coordinated and holistic response. • Organizations focused on driving key security enhancements can stop the next breach. An intrusion can happen to any organization—how it responds and learns from prior incidents can make a significant difference on the impact of the next breach.