reports cybersecurity
Published on : Dec 7, 2022
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud company that powers and protects life online, today released a new State of the Internet report that indicates a severe risk to the financial services sector in Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, as attackers ramp up attacks and shift to more sophisticated techniques. Web application and API attacks in particular are increasing at an alarming rate while also growing in complexity. The new report, Enemy at the Gates, further notes that roughly 80 percent of cyberattackers additionally aim their efforts at customers of financial services in an attempt to find paths of least resistance for monetary gain.
Enemy at the Gates shows that financial services in APJ is among the most attacked verticals in several critical areas: web application and API attacks, DDoS, phishing, zero-day exploitation, and botnet activities. Most concerning is the staggering surge in web application and API attacks — a 449 percent growth in the number of attacks against APJ financial services year-over-year. Earlier this year, we found web apps and API vectors commonly used by ransomware groups to gain initial access via the exploitation of vulnerabilities. The surge in web app and API attacks in APJ seems to correlate with the high GDPs of some of the affected countries in the region. The shortage of cybersecurity skills or talent in the region could potentially be a factor in the increasing number of successful cyberattacks. Knowing what the attackers are focusing on could help organizations and security practitioners in APJ have a better understanding of their risk exposures and prioritize securing potential weaknesses.
Other key findings of the report include:
"Financial services is one of the most attacked industries when new vulnerabilities are discovered, a favorite target of DDoS attacks and continuously focused on by phishing campaigns, which are aimed at their customers who suffer the brunt of these attacks," said Steve Winterfeld, Advisory CISO for Akamai. "Attackers will always find ways to infiltrate your network or impact your customers. Understanding attack surfaces could provide insights into key risks and therefore allow organizations to devise security controls and mitigation plans to better protect customers."
For additional information, the security community can access, engage with, and learn from Akamai's threat researchers by visiting the new Akamai Security Hub and following the team on Twitter at @Akamai_Research.