Security News > 2021 > November > Shotgun targeting of malware attacks will be the defining infosec theme of 2022, reckons Sophos
Future malware and ransomware infections will consist of "Shotgun attacks with pinpoint targeting", according to Sophos' 2022 threat report.
As if that wasn't enough, the British infosec biz reckons established commodity malware attacks will end up delivering ever more ransomware, while extortion tactics used by ransomware gangs will become more diverse and intense - with the aim of browbeating victims into handing over cash.
Aside from ransomware, Sophos said 2022 would see re-runs of the ProxyLogon and ProxyShell attacks where vulns in widely used IT services and products were instantly leapt upon by criminals and nation states alike.
Targeted shotgun attacks, as Sophos described them, may also increase.
"SophosLabs believes that this may represent a novel way for malware distributors to thwart malware researchers while giving themselves a greater degree of certainty that their malware is going to a subset of victims that may be more desirable than the general population," concluded the company.
The RansomEXX trojan, which targets VMware ESXi hypervisors, was spotted by Sophos in June 2021 after an attack against a different ESXi hypervisor "Run by a large commercial bakery".
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