Online watch cyberattacks: ‘Some nations may turn hackers for hire’

Nation states, which have so far used dedicated teams to carry out cyberattacks on the online and offline infrastructure of other countries can, in 2022, turn “hackers for hire” by opting to work for other countries, global cybersecurity firm McAfee Enterprise, along with FireEye, said in a report released on Wednesday.

Such nation states, it noted, will also turn to social media to infiltrate enterprise organisations.

“Nation States will weaponise social media to target more enterprise professionals, looking to infiltrate organisations for their own criminal gain. While this approach is not new, it is relatively uncommon. After all, it does demand a level of research to “hook” the target into interactions and establishing fake profiles is more work but targeting of individuals has proven to be a very successful channel,