Defenders Face New Challenges As Attack Complexity Grows

Complex attacks in which adversaries use advanced digital techniques are on the rise, according to a new report.

VMware's annual Global Incident Response Threat Report finds cybercriminals are increasingly using emerging techniques such as the manipulation of time stamps, or Chronos attacks, which nearly 60% of survey respondents have observed.

The shift to remote work has complicated things for defenders: 32% of respondents have seen attacks in which threat actors use business communication platforms to move around a given environment and launch sophisticated attacks. Following the rush to cloud technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, criminals have continued to exploit cloud environments. Nearly half (43%) of respondents said more than one-third of attacks targeted cloud workloads; 22% said more than half targeted cloud workloads. 

The heated threat landscape is leading to severe burnout among security professionals, researchers found. The report finds defenders are grappling with mental health concerns and heightened job expectations, with 51% experiencing extreme stress or burnout over the past year.

You can find the full report here.