A recent report released by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) highlights that hacker abuse of valid credentials is the most successful method for breaching systems, accounting for over half of critical infrastructure attacks over a yearlong period.
The agency attributes this concerning trend to poor employee offboarding processes, allowing dormant accounts to remain in active directories, and default administrator accounts being targeted in 54% of successful attacks. Spear-phishing, a social engineering technique, also played a significant role, contributing to about one-third of successful breaches.
According to Gary Barlet, federal CTO at Illumio, the fact that more than half of cyberattacks originate from legitimate accounts dispels the notion that organizations can rely solely on user identity and authentication to ensure security. The report emphasizes that even advanced attackers often leverage common methods for compromising systems, including straightforward phishing and exploiting default credentials on administrator accounts.
The report does reveal some positive outcomes, with network defenses successfully blocking 13% of spear-phishing attempts and endpoint defenses thwarting 78% of malicious links or attachments.
To address these vulnerabilities, experts recommend updating decommissioning checklists and implementing multifactor authentication for all accounts, as well as maintaining robust offboarding processes to prevent unauthorized access. The findings underscore the importance of getting the basics right in cybersecurity and employing both technical and process-driven approaches to enhance overall defense against cyber threats.
