Threat actors are constantly evolving and are industrializing their toolboxes to remain one step ahead of defenses and stay off the radar. To counter those threats, companies need to have a better understanding of the new attacker toolbox and employ solutions that take a more holistic view of defense.
In recent assaults, it is evident that threat actors are employing a blended attack approach where tools and methodologies aren’t easily detected by traditional and point perimeter defenses. Some examples of these blended attacks could look like:
Uniformed attack patterns
In this method, threat actors will choose one credit union and use that knowledge to target other credit unions with a similar tech stack. This is possible because so many organizations use the same software and are thus vulnerable to the same flaws.
Waiting game
Attackers play a waiting game because they only need to win once in order to have a successful attack. Cybercriminals can progressively develop an attack over days and weeks by poking around the edges of an organization to see what the thresholds are. In a second phase, they will meter their attack to come in under that threshold and go after high-profile assets.
Bluffing technique
Attackers employ a bluffing method by gaining the attention of the firm’s security team with a DDoS assault and then perform the actual assault against other assets. Most firms find it difficult to cope with these mixed-mode attacks because they are left vulnerable on every front of their defense system.
The situation becomes more difficult when organizations rely on outdated defense strategies and point products that focus on blocking a single variant of an automated attack. These tools were developed to do one thing and aren’t cutting it anymore. It is time for organizations to take a new approach or suffer the consequences of outdated defense strategies.
Modern threats need modern solutions
To protect themselves, organizations need to adopt a multi-defense approach because if any firm is relying on one defense mechanism, then it will be exposed. Organizations can employ a defense in depth (DiD) strategy which helps in shielding systems and data from cyber assault. In this approach, there are multilayers, and if one defense fails, another is there to block an assault. This intentional redundancy creates greater security and can protect against a variety of attacks.
Additionally, it is important to think like an attacker because it is imperative to remain proactive than reactive and ensure attackers are both identified and tracked, even if their IP or identifying traits morph. This approach enables adaptive coercion and action by which attackers systematically confront both human and non-human attackers and understand their intent. These actions include blocking entities, querying, or tarpitting suspicious traffic.
The nature of cyber threats has evolved over the years but so has cyber security defenses. It is essential that organizations rely on defenses that offer solutions to the modern problems they face. The best way to become an easy target is to remain static by using outdated defense techniques.
