The growing sophistication of cyberthreats alongside the expansion of remote workforces and cloud technologies have exposed significant vulnerabilities in VPNs. Due to their legacy architecture, VPNs grant overly broad network access once credentials are verified, significantly increasing the risk of cyberattacks if those credentials are compromised.
VPN attacks are on the rise - 56% of organizations experienced one or more VPN-related cyberattacks in the last year-up from 45% the year before- highlighting the growing frequency and sophistication of attacks targeting VPNs. The vast majority are shifting to zero trust - 78% of organizations plan to implement zero trust strategies in the next 12 months.
Most have doubts about VPN security - 91% of respondents expressed concerns about VPNs compromising their IT security environment, with recent breaches illustrating the risks of maintaining outdated or unpatched VPN infrastructures.
VPNs are no match for ransomware, malware, and DDoS - Respondents identified ransomware, malware, and DDoS attacks as the top threats exploiting VPN vulnerabilities, underscoring the breadth of risks organizations face due to inherent weaknesses in traditional VPN architectures.
The risk of lateral movement can't be ignored - 53% of enterprises breached via VPN vulnerabilities say threat actors moved laterally, demonstrating containment failures at the initial point of compromise that underscore the risks of traditional, flat networks.
More cases of ransomware exploiting VPN flaws-particularly in the aftermath of publicly disclosed vulnerabilities-highlight the critical weaknesses inherent in traditional VPNs. Such vulnerabilities give attackers easy entry points to infiltrate networks and facilitate lateral movement, leading to substantial data breaches and operational disruption.
In the case of VPN, the challenge for enterprises is that each CVE can represent a single security point of failure for the enterprise: a beachhead that allows attackers to compromise a VPN asset, establish persistence, move laterally across the network, and steal data.
As VPN CVEs continue to be disclosed at this pace, they will be a persistent risk for enterprises that use VPNs for remote connectivity.
The survey results reflect deep-seated concerns about VPNs compromising security environments, echoing ongoing trends and increasing vulnerabilities in VPN technologies.
The recent surge in VPN breaches highlights a disconnect between perceived security and actual risk.
Recent high-severity exploits in VPN products underscore that even well-prepared organizations might be underestimating the capabilities of cyber adversaries exploiting vulnerabilities inherent in VPN technology.
VPN Security Concerns After M&A. Concerns around the impact of mergers and acquisitions on existing VPN infrastructure spotlight the potential vulnerabilities that arise from organizational changes and the integration of disparate networks.
This minimizes the risk of internal threats and lateral movement within a network, which are common vulnerabilities in VPN setups.
Severe VPN vulnerabilities and exploits will increase - Given the frequency, severity, and scale of VPN vulnerabilities disclosed in the past year, enterprises should expect this trend to continue.
Threat actors and security researchers are aware of the heightened risk of high-severity vulnerabilities in VPN products.
High-profile attacks caused by VPN will take the spotlight - Closely related to our first prediction, we will see more large organizations disclose breaches that result from exploited VPN vulnerabilities.
A surge in AI-powered VPN offerings will raise security and privacy concerns - Amid ongoing advancements in AI, AI-powered VPN solutions will flood the market.
Password-spraying attacks on VPNs will continue to grow - Attackers will increasingly find ways to exploit weak password management practices and unused default VPN connection profiles through password-spraying attacks.
Enterprise spend will shift away from VPN toward zero trust connectivity - While VPN has long enabled remote connectivity for enterprises, the technology's consistent and growing security challenges will make it more challenging to justify long-term spending.
This report is based on the results of a comprehensive online survey of 647 IT and cybersecurity professionals, conducted in April 2024, to identify the latest enterprise adoption trends, challenges, gaps, and solution preferences related to VPN risk.
This Cyber News was published on www.cybersecurity-insiders.com. Publication date: Tue, 14 May 2024 14:13:06 +0000