Cyberattacks continue to wreak havoc on supply chains and technology companies across the country, prompting both government officials and private organizations to direct greater funding to their security systems. Cyberattacks on supply chains soared 51% in 2021 and cloud platforms remain prime candidates for additional attacks this year, prompting firms like Microsoft and Google to build up their cybersecurity portfolios.
Further, the US Department of Energy has warned of new attack strategies targeting industrial control systems, likely linked to Russia’s retaliation against economic sanctions. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine dragging on, the threat of cyber warfare will continue to increase and governments will look to spend more on securing their online defense systems.
Related ETF: First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR)
Cyberattacks on Supply Chain and Cloud Platforms May Rise in 2022
The threat of cyberattacks soared during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as the entire world shifted online, yet more than two years later that threat is higher than ever.
Global digitization trends have continued to accelerate over the last few years, which has led to greater exposure for hacks and disruptions in the world’s supply chains. According to Tech Republic, the number of cyberattacks on global supply chains increased by 51% in the period from July 2021 to December 2021.
A survey of over 1,400 cybersecurity decision markers, conducted by the NCC Group, also showed that 36% said they are more responsible for preventing, detecting and resolving supply chain attacks than their suppliers, meaning cybersecurity professionals are likely to be an integral part of protecting supply chains in the future.
Additionally, of those surveyed, a majority believe that cybersecurity budgets are expected to increase by an average of 10% in 2022 to counter the increased risk to supply chains around the world.
Forbes has reported that supply chains attacks can have devastating effects on global economies. Cybersecurity vulnerabilities are illustrating just how interconnected the world is, as seen with the SolarWinds cyberattack that infiltrated up to 18,000 organizations in early 2021. Organizations must revamp and improve their cybersecurity processes to counter the heighted risk of cyberattacks over the coming years.
Bloomberg Intelligence conducted a survey of roughly 3,000 executives across industries in the United States and found that 61% expect to increase their tech spending, with the largest share of executives saying cybersecurity will be a significant part of their business needs in 3-5 years. 53% of respondents also said that threats to data security are higher than they were a year ago.
On average, companies expect to dedicate a larger amount of their tech budget to security in the coming year, boding well for cybersecurity companies.
Further, major technology companies are reporting a record number of hacks and are beginning to reshape their cybersecurity practices. Google researchers found that the number of zero-day hacks, an exploit that leaves software vendors exactly zero days to secure it, jumped to a record-high in 2021, more than double the previous year’s total.
MRP recently highlighted cybersecurity stocks, specifically Google’s $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant, and additional acquisitions may be on the way.
CNBC reports that both Microsoft and Amazon made similar cybersecurity purchases in the last year, and that ongoing growth of…
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