The tenth annual Global Threat Report from CrowdStrike provides crucial insights into the evolving threat landscape and attack trends. The report reveals alarming statistics, including a 75% surge in successful cloud attacks and the emergence of 34 new threat actors, underscoring the escalating challenges in cybersecurity.
CrowdStrike's findings indicate a significant acceleration in cyberattack speed, with the average time for eCrime intrusion activity decreasing to 62 minutes from 84 minutes in 2022. The report highlights the alarming trend of adversaries increasingly leveraging stolen identity credentials, leading to a sharp rise in interactive intrusions and hands-on-keyboard activity by 60%.
Cloud adoption by businesses has led to a corresponding increase in cloud intrusions, with a 75% overall rise and a 110% year-on-year increase in "cloud-conscious" cases. Adam Meyers, Head of Counter Adversary Operations at CrowdStrike, warns of unprecedented stealthy operations targeting both cloud infrastructure and identity credentials, facilitated by rapidly evolving adversary tradecraft.
The report also foresees disruptive activities targeting global elections, fueled by nation-state and eCrime adversaries exploiting generative AI technology. Adversaries from China, Russia, and Iran are expected to conduct disinformation campaigns to disrupt democratic processes in over 40 elections scheduled for 2024.
CrowdStrike notes the increasing experimentation and adoption of generative AI by nation-state actors and hacktivists to lower the barrier for sophisticated cyber operations. As generative AI gains popularity, it is anticipated to be utilized for cyber activities in 2024, presenting new challenges for cybersecurity professionals.
To combat these evolving threats, CrowdStrike emphasizes the importance of adopting a platform-based approach fueled by adversary-driven intelligence, human-led analysis, and advanced technology. Meyers underscores the necessity for organizations to prioritize cloud protection, enhance visibility into enterprise risk areas, and leverage threat intelligence and hunting capabilities to effectively thwart relentless adversaries.
