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ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 Analysis

09/23/2024
Andrew Hay

Key Takeaways for Unified Communications, Contact Centres, and Enterprise Networks

As cybersecurity threats evolve and intensify, staying informed about the latest risks is essential, particularly in critical infrastructure areas such as Unified Communications (UC), Contact Centres (CC), and Enterprise Networks. The ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report offers deep insights into the most pressing cyber risks affecting these technologies. In this blog post, we’ll explore key findings from the report and their implications for organisations relying on these systems.

Unified Communications: The Expanding Attack Surface

Unified Communications (UC) platforms, like Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, AudioCodes, and Mitel, offer seamless communication across multiple channels. However, this also increases the potential attack surface, making these platforms targets for various cyber threats.

  1. Social Engineering and Phishing: Phishing remains a major threat vector for UC platforms. Attackers use tactics to impersonate trusted users, gaining access to sensitive data and discussions. These platforms’ cloud-based nature makes them vulnerable to low-cost, high-impact attacks (ENISA, p. 56).
  2. Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks: DoS attacks target UC platforms to disrupt service availability. An attack on a platform like Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex can severely hamper business communication, leading to significant operational delays (ENISA, p. 78).
  3. Malware in Communication Channels: Malware is often delivered through trusted communication platforms via phishing or malicious file attachments. Using trusted services such as Slack or Microsoft OneDrive to deliver malware has become increasingly common (ENISA, p. 56).

Contact Centres: Prime Targets for Cybercriminals

Contact centres, powered by platforms such as Cisco, Avaya, and Genesys, process vast amounts of customer data, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals.

  1. Ransomware on the Rise: Contact centres are facing heightened ransomware threats. Attackers encrypt critical systems and threaten to leak sensitive customer data unless a ransom is paid. Integrating contact centre platforms with external services often exacerbates these risks (ENISA, p. 45).
  2. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: The compromise of third-party services, such as the high-profile breach of 3CX, continues to pose significant risks to contact centres, allowing attackers to gain entry through compromised vendors (ENISA, p. 13)​.
  3. Data Breaches and Social Engineering: Contact centre staff are often the target of social engineering attacks aimed at extracting sensitive customer data. These attacks bypass technical security measures by exploiting human vulnerabilities (ENISA, p. 69).

Enterprise Networks: Critical Infrastructure Under Attack

Enterprise networks, such as those provided by Cisco, Extreme Networks, and Cradlepoint, are essential to business operations but are constantly threatened by sophisticated cyberattacks.

  1. Network Vulnerabilities: 76.29% of identified vulnerabilities affect network-facing components, making enterprise networks prime targets for cybercriminals. Products from Cisco and other major vendors are frequently targeted, leading to significant breaches (ENISA, p. 37)​.
  2. Legacy Infrastructure: Many organisations continue to rely on outdated network infrastructure vulnerable to attacks due to a lack of regular updates. Routers and switches are common targets for attackers seeking entry into these systems (ENISA, p. 78)​.
  3. Ransomware Spread: Ransomware attacks on enterprise networks are becoming more frequent. Attackers leverage lateral movement across poorly segmented networks to spread malware, maximising the impact on the organisation (ENISA, p. 45)​.

Statistics for the Regions

The ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report provides a detailed analysis of cyber threats across Europe, highlighting the regions most impacted by these attacks. The following statistics focus on countries within Damovo’s customer regions:

Germany

Ransomware and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks dominate, with 19% of all incidents targeting the finance and public administration sectors. Additionally, 17% of ransomware attacks targeted the manufacturing sector, a key part of the German economy (ENISA, p. 12).

Sweden

Malware and phishing incidents increased significantly, with the digital infrastructure sector seeing a 25% rise in attacks. The public administration sector was also heavily targeted, representing 10% of phishing incidents (ENISA, p. 15)​.

Belgium and Luxembourg

Hacktivist attacks rose in these regions, particularly due to geopolitical tensions linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Hacktivist groups, such as NoName057, were responsible for 33% of DDoS attacks on public administration (ENISA, p. 15).

Poland

Cybercriminals targeted enterprise networks, with 8% of attacks aimed at the digital infrastructure sector. Vulnerabilities in Cisco and Fortinet devices were frequently exploited to compromise systems (ENISA, p. 11).

UK

Both public administration and healthcare sectors faced significant ransomware threats, with 19% of incidents targeting public services. The healthcare sector, in particular, saw 8% of ransomware attacks, affecting patient care (ENISA, p. 15)​.

Ireland

Like the UK, Ireland saw a rise in attacks on the public administration sector, which accounted for 19% of reported incidents. Ransomware and DDoS attacks also targeted the finance and business services sectors (ENISA, p. 12)​.

Conclusion

The ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report highlights the pressing cybersecurity challenges facing organisations today, particularly those operating Unified Communications, Contact Centers, and Enterprise Networks.

With threats like ransomware, DDoS, and social engineering on the rise, it is more critical than ever for businesses to prioritise patching, adopt advanced threat detection solutions, and cultivate a culture of cybersecurity awareness.

At Damovo, we are committed to helping our clients navigate these complex challenges through innovative, tailored cybersecurity solutions.

For a more in-depth analysis and recommendations on mitigating these threats, you can access the full ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report.