RWS_Spring_21

41 REMOTE WORK SOLUTIONS rwsmagazine.com 2. Attackers Pinpoint Security Gaps in Legacy Endpoints Endpoints have become a high- priority target for attackers amid the global pandemic. Watchguard predicts that with more employ- ees working at home without some of the network-based protections available through the corporate office, attackers will focus on vulnerabilities in person- al computers, their software, and operating systems. It’s ironic that the rise in remote work coincides with the same year Microsoft has ended extended support of some of the most popular versions of Windows – 7 and server 2008. In 2021, Watch- guard expects cyber criminals to seek out a significant security flaw in Windows 7 in hopes of exploiting legacy endpoints that users can’t easily patch at home. While Windows 10 and Server 2019 have been out for quite a while, there’s no getting around the fact that some people rarely update. Windows 7 (and by rela- tion, server 2008) was one of the most popular versions of Windows before 10. Since many considered 8 and others to be problematic, many organizations chose to stick with Windows 7 and server 2008 for as long as they could. In fact, some organizations may not be able to move away from these old versions easily, since they have specialized legacy equipment that still relies on those older Windows versions. As a result, a significant portion of the industry sticks with old operating systems long past their expiration date. Black hat hackers know this and look for opportunities to take advantage. You can expect to see at least one major new Windows 7 vulnerabil- ity surface in 2021 as attackers continue to find and target flaws in these legacy endpoints. “Upgrading or replacing old workstations and servers running unsupported operating systems is never an easy project,” Laliberte continued. “It is, however, a secu- rity imperative. Although the end of Windows 7 and Server 2008 was well-advertised, many organiza- tions still continue to use these out-of-support operating systems because they lack the IT manpow- er to migrate. As a result, MSPs and MSSPs have an opportunity to sup- port clients looking to transition off of Windows 7 and Server 2008 and onto the latest releases.” Employee retention Source: Infosys (2020) Source: Ponemon Institute, 10/20 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% More than one response permitted Since COVID-19 have any of the following attacks increased? 38% Phishing/social engineering Credential theft Denial of service General malware Account takeover Compromised/stolen devices Malicious insider Advanced Malware/zero day attacks Web-based attack Cross-site scripting Ransomware SQL injection Other None of these attacks have increased 62% 55% 49% 49% 49% 48% 45% 29% 28% 27% 25% 21% 6% 12% B fore 25 0 MPLS MPLS & VPN SD-WAN SASE -25 25 0 -25 25 0 -25 25 0 -25 Agility Confide ce Levels Management and Operations Confidence Levels Performance Confidence Levels Security Confidence Levels After Before After Before After Before After MPLS MPLS & VPN SD-WAN SASE MPLS MPLS & VPN SD-WAN SASE MPLS MPLS & VPN SD-WAN SASE 20 20 36 58 100 25 25 41 65 Global Average share of customer interactions that are digital, % Adoption acceleration 3 years North America Adoption acceleration 3 years Precrisis COVID-19 crisis Authentication attacks and the data breaches that fuel them have become a daily occurrence. Cyber criminals have found incredible success using the troves of stolen usernames and passwords available on under- ground forums to compromise organizations using password spraying and credential stuff- ing attacks. These attacks take advantage of the fact that many users still fail to choose strong and unique passwords for each of their individual accounts. Just look at the dark web and the many underground forums. There are now billions of usernames and passwords from various breach- es, widely available, with millions added every day. According to Watchguard, these databases — paired with the ease of automating authenti- cation attack — means no Int r- net-exposed service is safe from cyber intrusion if it isn’t using multi-factor authentication (MFA). Watchguard predicts that in 2021, every service that doesn’t have MFA enabled will suffer a breach or an account compromise. “Until recently, MFA has been out of reach for many organiza- tions due to cost and complex- ity,” concluded Laliberte. “Thanks to advancements in simplified deployment and management, strong authentication is now available for organizations of all sizes. And it’s a good thing too. As the global workforce floats somewhere between 100 percent remote and various hybrid mod- els, proper identity management will be critical in 2021. MFA is a central element of the authenti- cation puzzle and one that many MSPs and MSSPs are – or will soon be – well-equipped to deploy and manage.” 3. ‘Every Service Without MFA Will Suffer a Breach’