Online watch cyberattacks: ‘Some nations may turn hackers for hire’

Nation states, which have so far used dedicated teams to carry out cyberattacks on the online and offline infrastructure of other countries can, in 2022, turn “hackers for hire” by opting to work for other countries, global cybersecurity firm McAfee Enterprise, along with FireEye, said in a report released on Wednesday.

Such nation states, it noted, will also turn to social media to infiltrate enterprise organisations.

“Nation States will weaponise social media to target more enterprise professionals, looking to infiltrate organisations for their own criminal gain. While this approach is not new, it is relatively uncommon. After all, it does demand a level of research to “hook” the target into interactions and establishing fake profiles is more work but targeting of individuals has proven to be a very successful channel, and we predict the use of this vector could grow not only through espionage groups, but also other threat actors,” the report said. Further, McAfee and FireEye predict that in in 2022 cybercriminals will have learnt from their successful tactics of 2021 and will evolve in sophistication “wielding the potential to wreak more havoc across the globe”.

“With the evolving threat landscape and continued impact of the global pandemic, it is crucial that enterprises stay aware of the cybersecurity trends so they can be proactive and actionable in protecting their information,” said Raj Samani, fellow and chief scientist of McAfee and FireEye.