Fortinet Inc.’s global threat intelligence and research team, FortiGuard Labs, recently released comprehensive analysis on the cyber threat landscape for 2022. Predictions include that cyberattacks will be aimed at everything from the 5G edge to digital wallets to satellite internet. The bottom line: No surface is safe anymore.

“The attack surface that we talk about is literally being pushed out from the edge to space,” said Derek Manky (pictured), chief of security insights and global threat alliances at FortiGuard Labs. “It opens the door for cybercriminals to be able to have accessibility to these networks, and so security has to come … front of mind there.”

Manky spoke with Lisa Martin, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during a digital CUBE Conversation. They discussed some of the key security challenges that organizations in every industry are facing in 2022. (* Disclosure below.)

Facing cybersecurity challenges in 2022

Because of the increased attack surface, enterprises need to be more cognizant of security issues from a variety of angles, according to Manky. One of these angles is the 5G-enabled edge and the home environment where many people working remotely are accessing smart devices on a regular basis.

“We have things called EATs, Edge Access Trojans. These are Trojans that will actually impact and infect edge devices,” Manky explained. “Because these devices naturally have more privilege, they have APIs and connectivity to a lot of these things … they could definitely do some serious damage and be used as these pivot points within the network from the edge.”

The digital wallet is another area of concern for security, according to Manky. While 20 years ago, it was fairly easy to get someone’s bank credentials and siphon funds out of an account, that’s a lot harder nowadays. Because of this, cybercriminals are shifting tactics to go after low-hanging fruit, which are digital wallets and cryptocurrency.

“These wallets … hold a lot of value right now … with the crypto,” Manky explained . “They can be transferred easily without having to do … wire transfers and all those sorts of things that includes actually a lot of paperwork from the financial institutions.”

Ransomware was up nearly 11 times in the first half of calendar year 2021, according to Manky. This isn’t expected to decrease in 2022, as ransomware will be both aggressive and destructive. Destructive capabilities will be put into ransomware because cyber criminals will be creating new threats.

“Now they’re going to be … holding systems for ransom … and probably crippling a couple to show that they mean business, and saying, ‘Unless you pay us within a day or two, we’re going to take all of these systems offline. We’re not just going to take them offline. We’re going to destroy them,'” Manky stated. “That’s a big incentive for people to pay up. So they’re really playing on that fear element.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: Fortinet Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Fortinet nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE