2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report – Mid Year Update

Cybercrime has been a global phenomenon for decades. But with geopolitical forces accelerating the reconfiguration of the world’s cyber frontlines, the true danger presented by threat actors is coming to the fore — particularly among those that once saw the smallest share of attacks. For many, 2022 has been a wake-up call: there are no safe industries, and there are no safe countries. Cybercrime is everywhere.

And it touches every facet of our lives. During the average day, much of what we interact with — from the clothes that we wear to the cars that we drive, even the water that we drink — has been impacted by a cyberattack. And this already pervasive threat is growing and expanding at an alarming clip.

Already in 2022, we’ve seen attackers compromise Microsoft Teams, slipping into chats and dropping malicious executables into conversations. We’ve seen QNAP ransomware specifically designed to seek out and encrypt backups. We’ve seen cybercrime syndicates attempting to destabilize entire nations.

It’s a terrifying prospect, until you consider its corollary: Cybersecurity is also everywhere.

In every state and every country, there are individuals who have dedicated their lives to beating back an ever-encroaching wave of cyberattacks. If you’re not one yourself, you probably work with at least one of them; I’ve been fortunate enough to work with thousands of them.

As the cyber arms race continues to escalate, they’re the ones on the front lines, observing and anticipating the global threat landscape from a business perspective to remain proactive against an increasingly volatile global threat environment.

Cybersecurity professionals and their tools are saving lives in our hospitals, safeguarding our communications networks, forming barricades around critical infrastructure in war-torn regions and even hijacking ransomware strains.

And unlike threat actors, who may be motivated by money, fame, nationalism or any number of other factors, those fighting on the side of good are united in purpose, dedicated to helping build a safer world for everyone.

As the cyber warfare battlefront continues to shift — changing the challenges of Europe, the United States and the rest of the world — cybersecurity professionals at SonicWall and elsewhere will continue communicating, innovating and fostering resiliency among our customer organizations and the world at large. So that when cybercriminals shift strategies and acquire new targets, we’ll be prepared with the tools, talent and technology to meet them where they are. And we will ultimately prevail.

Bill Conner, President & CEO. SONICWALL