Recent analysis reveals a concerning rise in cyber threats delivered through encrypted channels. As the use of encryption in online communication has become the norm, cyber attackers exploit these secure pathways to conceal their malicious activities. The Zscaler ThreatLabz 2024 Encrypted Attacks Report highlights key trends and patterns emerging from a staggering 32.1 billion encrypted attacks blocked over the course of a year.

Key Findings from the Report

1. Increase in Encrypted Attacks: Encrypted threats constituted a significant 87.2% of all blocked attacks, marking a 10.3% rise from the previous year. This trend underscores how attackers increasingly use encryption to mask their malicious endeavors.

2. Malware as a Dominant Threat: Malware continues to be the leading encrypted threat, making up 86.5% of blocked attacks. The report indicates that attackers have adapted their malware tactics to navigate encrypted channels, evading more traditional security measures.

3. Surge in Other Threat Types: There has been notable growth in threats like cryptomining, cross-site scripting, and phishing attacks, with increases of 122.9%, 110.2%, and 34.1% respectively. The rise of generative AI tools is believed to have facilitated these upticks by making it easier to develop sophisticated cryptomining scripts and convincing phishing campaigns.

4. Targeted Industries: The manufacturing sector is the most affected by these encrypted attacks, followed by technology and services. Between October 2023 and September 2024, the manufacturing industry faced over 13.5 billion encrypted attack attempts.

5. Geographical Targeting: The United States continues to be the top target for these cyber threats, with 11 billion attempts, followed by India with 5.4 billion. Other targeted nations include France, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Emerging Threat Trends

The report indicates that sophisticated adversaries are adapting their strategies, utilizing encryption to exfiltrate sensitive data and deploy advanced phishing techniques. A significant concern highlighted is the misuse of cloud services by advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, allowing them to blend in with legitimate cloud traffic, thereby evading security controls.

Zscaler’s Response to Encrypted Threats

Zscaler’s approach to combating these threats involves a Zero Trust strategy that eliminates blind spots with its TLS/SSL inspection capabilities. By transforming its architecture to prevent initial compromises, halt lateral movement, and block command-and-control callbacks, Zscaler offers organizations a robust defense against encrypted malware.

The Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA) solution inspects all encrypted traffic, allowing for quick identification and blocking of sophisticated threats, while avoiding the latency associated with traditional hardware appliances. By implementing these cutting-edge protections, Zscaler can effectively manage the growth of encrypted traffic and the attacks associated with it.

Conclusion

As cyber threats evolve alongside advancements in encryption and AI technologies, organizations must stay vigilant. The insights from the ThreatLabz report serve as a critical reminder of the need to bolster defenses against these increasingly subtle and sophisticated encrypted attacks. Implementing comprehensive TLS/SSL inspection and other proactive security measures will be essential for organizations aiming to protect themselves against these persistent threats.

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