Cryptojacking hits industry hard and hospitals could be next
Emerging threat vectors, including “cryptojacking”, are causing havoc across industries, including retail and financial services, with hospitals and schools warned they are seen as soft targets by cybercriminals and can expect to be attacked.
The data emerged in SonicWall’s Cyber Threat Report, a bi-annual report that details an increasingly diversified cyberattack landscape amid shifting threat actor strategies. SonicWall recorded the second-highest year on record for global ransomware attempts, as well as an 87% increase in Internet of Things (IoT) malware and a record number of cryptojacking attacks (139.3 million) in 2022.
Cryptojacking involves cybercriminals taking control of a computer and then surreptitiously having it mine cryptocurrencies without the user’s permission or knowledge.
“The past year reinforced the need for cybersecurity in every industry and every facet of business, as threat actors targeted anything and everything, from education to retail to finance,” said SonicWall President and CEO Bob VanKirk. “While organisations face an increasing number of real-world obstacles with macroeconomic pressures and continued geopolitical strife, threat actors are shifting attack strategies at an alarming rate.”
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