Q1 Public Sector: Public Sector Quarterly Threat Landscape

Q1 Public Sector: Public Sector Quarterly Threat Landscape

Product Serial: S-2022-05-12c

TLP: WHITE

ZeroFox Intelligence is excited to announce the release of our Public Sector Quarterly Threat Landscape for Q1 of 2022.

Standing Intelligence Requirements

For the most up-to-date list of ZeroFox Threat Research’s Intelligence Requirements, please visit:

https://cloud.zerofox.com/alpha_team/advisories/14956

Link to Download

View the full report here.

Scope Note

ZeroFox Intelligence is derived from a variety of sources, including—but not limited to—curated open-source accesses, vetted social media, proprietary data sources, and direct access to threat actors and groups through covert communication channels. Information relied upon to complete any report cannot always be independently verified. As such, ZeroFox applies rigorous analytic standards and tradecraft in accordance with best practices and includes caveat language and source citations to clearly identify the veracity of our Intelligence reporting and substantiate our assessments and recommendations. All sources used in this particular Intelligence product were identified prior to 12:00 PM (EDT) on April 8, 2022; per cyber hygiene best practices, caution is advised when clicking on any third-party links.

Executive Summary

ZeroFox Intelligence assessed the developments to key cyber threats facing the public sector from Q4 2021 through Q1 2022. Organizations faced a persistent threat from social engineering campaigns which both targeted officials and impersonated government entities to entice victim engagement. Although the threat from Initial Access Brokers (IABs) may have decreased, the threat from vulnerability exploitation very likely increased. Botnet and malware deployment against targets in the public sector remained high. Despite a drop in the number of ransomware and digital extortion attacks against public sector organizations in Q1 2022, they remained some of the most significant threats to the sector.