Cyber Attack News Today 2022

Despite improvements in global cybersecurity, cyberattacks and data breaches are still major problems in 2022. According to cyber security experts, the frequency and sophistication of recent cyber attacks are constantly on the rise, leaving businesses and individuals vulnerable to cyber criminals who seek to steal data or cause damage to systems.

Hackers have successfully stolen confidential data from some of the world’s biggest companies, and there is no sign that they are slowing down. In this article, we will review some of the most recent attacks of this year that everyone should be aware of. We will discuss how businesses can prevent them from happening in the future. Stay safe online!

Cyber Attack News Today 2022

1. Red Cross Data Breach

In January 2022, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had its systems hacked, and confidential data was stolen from over half a million people.

These servers also held information regarding the company’s Restoring Family Links service, which helps bring together those who have been separated by war, natural disasters, and violence.

To prevent further damage, they took all affected servers offline; however, they still do not know who is responsible for this nation-state-level attack.

2. DDoS Attack On Ukraine

On February 15, a DDoS attack hit websites belonging to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and two of Ukraine’s biggest banks. The US and UK pinned the attack on Russia’s GRU intelligence agency.

The Ukrainian Cyber Police said the assault was linked to another “information attack” where scammers sent spam texts claiming that ATMs weren’t working in Ukraine.

3. Microsoft Data Breach

On March 20th, 2022, Lapsus$, a hacking group, targeted Microsoft. The group posted proof of the hack on Telegram, which included Cortana, Bing, and other products. Although the hackers could retrieve some information from Microsoft servers, by March 22- just two days later- Microsoft announced that they had stopped the attack and that only one account was compromised.

In light of the Lapsus$ group stealing confidential data from other companies like Nvidia and Samsung, Microsoft’s security team was prepared. Luckily for Microsoft, no customer data was stolen, and they even received some excellent PR because of their quick response time.

4. Ransomware Attack On Costa Rica Government

In a cyberattack in April, Russian hackers targeted the Costa Rican Ministry of Finance, crippling tax collection and export systems.

The newly elected President of Costa Rica declared a national emergency due to the attack, and the group asked for $10 million in ransom to return access to the government. Around 30 government agencies were taken down by hackers when the government refused their terms.

The attack, conducted by the Russian ransomware attack group Conti, left tax systems in the country frozen and delayed payments to workers- adversely affecting exports.

Subsequently, the government was forced to shut down associated computer systems used for tax declaration, import and export control, and management. This caused a loss of productivity totaling US$30 million daily for businesses across sectors.

5. Cashapp Data Breach

In April 2022, the mobile payment app Cash App revealed that a former employee had broken into its servers. While the downloaded data did not include potentially sensitive information like usernames, passwords, Social Security numbers, or bank account information, it did include full names and brokerage account numbers. These latter identifiers can be used to track a user’s stock activity on Cash App Investing.

The company contacted more than eight million people to tell them about what happened. Fortunately, no account credentials were taken in the attack, and only a limited amount of information that could be used to identify someone was stolen.

6. US Airport Hacking

14 Public-facing airport websites, including for some of the nation’s busiest airports, were inaccessible, with Russian group hackers claiming responsibility. Before carrying out the DDoS attack on several airports in the United States, a pro-Russian hacking group announced their plans publicly.

The cyberattack interrupted no operation, and all airports returned to normal within 24 hours.

7. Greenlands Healthcare System

The healthcare system in Greenland was attacked by hackers, which caused a wide-scale network crash. Although initial findings showed that no data was damaged or exposed, the attack severely limited access to healthcare services.

To mitigate the issues caused by the attack, operators were forced to restart IT systems and servers that run the island’s healthcare system. As a result, medical staff cannot access patients’ medical records. Authorities did not reveal what sort of attack befell Greenland.

However, healthcare organizations often fall victim to ransomware attacks, as threat actors are aware that governments cannot tolerate prolonged periods of downtime and thus are inclined to pay the ransom.

8. Bulgarian government websites cyberattack

Hackers DDoS attacked Bulgarian government websites, including the presidential administration website, the Defense Ministry website, and others. A pro-Russian group that goes by the name “Armada Collective” claimed responsibility for the attack in a post made later that day. They said this was their way of punishing Bulgaria “for betrayal to Russia and the supply of weapons to Ukraine.”

However, the cyberattack did not affect any content or personal data, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said, adding that the attacks had been halted.

9. India’s Commercial Airline Cyber Attack

On the same day it began operations, August 7 this year, India’s newest commercial airline, Akasa Air, accidentally exposed the personal data of 34,533 customers due to a technical error. Cybersecurity researcher Ashutosh Barot first discovered the issue.

However, when he reached out to Akasa Air via Twitter for comment or an official email address to report the problem – there was no response. It wasn’t until after Barot informed TechCrunch about the leak that the company took action.

Barot discovered that the airline’s account registration process allowed unauthorized people to access customer information such as names, gender, email addresses, and phone numbers. Fortuitously, customer travel itineraries and payment records were not exposed in the data leak. This was not an external hack, and once the airline became aware of the glitch, it deactivated the sign-up service.

10. Telecommunication Breaching

Metador, an unidentified threat actor, has been breaching telecommunications, internet services providers (ISPs), social media platforms, and universities worldwide for approximately two years now. Metador’s purpose appears to be long-term persistence for espionage.

The group uses Windows-based malware that researchers have described as “extremely complex.” There are indications of Linux malware usage as well. Metador primarily targets organizations in the Middle East and Africa.

11.GiveSendGo Political Data Breach

Hackers once again leaked sensitive data on donors to the Freedom Convoy fundraiser hosted by the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo. In February 2022, a hacker who commonly attacks far-right social media networks also targeted GiveSendGo.

GiveSendGo is a Christian fundraising website favored by Canadian truckers who drove across the country protesting against COVID guidelines – more colloquially known as the Freedom Convoy. This case of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a powerful reminder that even political protests can result in significant security data breaches for companies.

The data provided by the hacker to the transparency and journalism collective DDoSecrets, reveals all names and donation amounts provided to the campaign as of February 23, as well as limited credit card data.

12. Uber’s Internal Systems Compromised

On Thursday, September 16, an 18-year-old took credit for accessing Uber’s internal systems without permission. The company announced this via tweet and said they were taking steps to mitigate the issue. According to cybersecurity experts, the hacker used social engineering techniques to get an Uber employee to divulge critical access information.

Social engineering techniques are cyber-attacks that leverage psychological manipulation to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.

The hacker gained access to data such as driver logs, trip data, and customer support inquiries, among other things. Uber said they are actively investigating the incident and will continue to take steps to protect their internal systems from malicious actors.

To protect against future attacks, companies must have top-notch security measures. Cyber attacks are getting increasingly sophisticated, with cybercriminals using more complex methods to access private data

Why Should We Be Conscious Of Cyber Attacks?

To Protect Our Data

Cyber attacks are becoming more widespread and sophisticated as cyber criminals use increasingly complex methods to access private data. A cyber attack can result in the loss of money or sensitive information or disrupt services and operations. By being conscious of cyber attacks, we can take measures to prevent them

To Maintain Privacy

We should also be aware of cyber attacks to maintain the privacy and safety of our data. Cybercriminals can use cyber attacks to access personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, etc. We can protect our data from cyber criminals by being conscious of cyber attacks.

To Protect Against Cyber Threats

Cybercriminals can use cyber attacks to target vulnerable systems, spread malicious code, or launch large-scale ransomware attacks. By being conscious of cyber threats, we can take measures to prevent these attacks from occurring.

To Remain Updated On Cyber Security News

It is also vital to stay up-to-date with cyber security news to be aware of the latest cyber trends and any new cyber threats that may arise. Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their methods, so being aware of the latest cyber news can help us take steps to protect ourselves and our data.

How To Prevent Cyber Attacks And Data Breaches?

Educate Yourself And Your Team

The first step to preventing cyber-attacks and data breaches is to educate yourself and your team on the latest cyber threats. This means understanding common attack methods such as phishing, malware, and ransomware attack. It also means keeping up with recent cyber news, so your team is aware of any new cyber threats.

Implement Cyber Security Measures

Once you have educated yourself and your team, it is essential to put cyber security measures in place to protect your data and systems. This means installing firewalls and antivirus software, implementing two-factor authentication, regularly patching software, and using cyber security best practices.

Malware – Hackers use malicious software such as viruses, ransomware, Trojans, spyware, adware, etc., to steal confidential information from an organization’s network system. If a company fails to step up monitoring protocols after its first breach, there is nothing to stop repeat attacks from occurring

Monitor Cyber Activity

It is also vital to monitor cyber activity to detect any cyber threats before they can cause harm. This means regularly scanning for malicious code, monitoring user activity, and keeping an eye on data breaches and cyber-attacks.

Update Cyber Security Measures

As cyber criminals evolve their methods, it is crucial to update cyber security measures to stay ahead of cyber threats. This means regularly patching software and updating cyber security best practices. It also means staying up-to-date with cyber security news so you can quickly respond to any new cyber threats that may arise.

Create Strong Passwords

Creating strong and unique passwords for all of our accounts is one of the most important steps to protect ourselves from cyber-attacks. A combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters is recommended when creating your passwords.

Keep Software Updated

Keeping our software up to date can help protect us from cyber-attacks. Software updates often include the latest security patches, which can protect us from cyber criminals exploiting vulnerabilities in outdated software versions.

Backup Important Data

Backing up necessary data is another great way to protect ourselves from cyber-attacks. By having a backup of your data, you’ll be able to quickly restore it if you ever become a victim of cybercriminals.

Ensure That All Sensitive Data Is Encrypted

Any data that contains sensitive information should be encrypted to protect it from cyber-attacks. Encrypting data makes it much harder for cyber criminals to steal and use it for malicious purposes.

Use A Secure VPN

Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks can help protect your data from cybercriminals. A VPN encrypts all your data, making it much harder for hackers to snoop on your online activities.

By understanding the importance of cyber security and taking proactive steps to protect ourselves and our data, we can reduce the risk of cyber attacks. With cyber threats on the rise, it is more important than ever to stay vigilant and take measures to prevent cyber attacks.

Conclusion

 

Threat actors and cybercriminals continue to evolve, which means that cyber security must also evolve to protect data and systems from cyber-attacks. By staying up-to-date with cyber attack news, implementing cyber security measures, and taking proactive steps to protect ourselves and our data, we can stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.

Through education, cyber security measures, regular monitoring, strong passwords, two-factor authentication, software updates, data backups, and secure VPNs, we can all help to reduce cyber attacks and keep our data secure.