In this commentary, the speaker highlights several positive developments in cybersecurity during 2022, offering a counter‑balance to the usual focus on threats. First, ransomware activity was lower than expected because many Eastern European cyber‑mercenaries were preoccupied with infighting and the Russia‑Ukraine conflict, reducing the volume of attacks. Second, despite the emergence of sophisticated wiper malware linked to the war, security teams quickly identified, disrupted, and patched these threats, preventing widespread damage. Third, large‑scale supply‑chain attacks, long feared as a major risk, did not materialize at the scale anticipated, suggesting effective vigilance. Fourth, public and governmental attention to cybersecurity grew markedly: the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) amplified its outreach, in‑person conferences returned, podcasts and online events persisted, and media outlets began covering security topics more responsibly. Finally, executives showed a greater willingness to engage with cybersecurity initiatives, fostering broader industry relevance. The speaker invites viewers to share their own 2022 successes and encourages following on LinkedIn and subscribing to the channel.
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Cybersecurity is not all doom and gloom. Let's consider what went right in 2022. Let's take a brief moment to be positive for a change and see the glass as half full, even if it is full of poison. And let's celebrate some of cybersecurity wins from last year. Now, given that our industry is about avoiding bad outcomes, we must pay attention to the traps and the pitfalls that we successfully avoided or minimized. So where did we win, or at least tie, in 2022? First, ransomware. It didn't wreck everything. Many of the cyber mercenaries in Eastern Europe, which have driven a lot of the ransomware attacks, well, they've been kind of busy last year. And they're still infighting between Russia and, and other groups. We haven't seen as many ransomware attacks as we thought. Now that's probably going to change. We're going to still see an uptick, but we've still got a lot of those very crafty cybercriminals out there busy doing other things and involved with the Russian-Ukrainian war. So even in 2023, it may not be as bad as it could have. Second, wipers. They fizzled last year and many new ones were developed, especially right around the time that Russia invaded Ukraine. But organizations were ready for it. And although they were very sophisticated and they were deployed all over the place, particularly by Russia, the cybersecurity teams were able to get in front of them early on, identify when they were released, find their infrastructure, undermine that, and get patches out to really make it a non-issue. Some companies were affected, but it could have been far, far worse. So we really avoided that particular bullet. Third, supply chain attacks. This is something that we've been worried about for at least a couple of years, and they didn't emerge and undermine every single organization and government agency around the planet. Well, at least that we know of. Now we know the attackers are going to go down this path. Gartner, for example, predicts that this is gonna be a very, very tumultuous area. Simply because it is a huge advantage to the attacker. Take down or infiltrate, undermine one vendor, and you could then potentially gain access to all of their customers. So it makes a lot of sense, but we didn't see it last year anywhere near what we had feared. So that's a good thing, but we still have to be on alert in 2023 and 2024. Now, the last area, it's really about how much we talk about cybersecurity, how the public and government, the social discussions and the visibility. And that's been due to several different reasons. First off, the government focus has really amped up in 2022. And we have to pay special recognition to CISA, right? The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. They've done a great job in 2022 in getting the message out, in working with private industry and building a good rapport. Another thing is the return of in-person cybersecurity conferences. That's really gotten a lot of us out there and again, seeing face to face, talking about things, driving good issues and bringing more focus. But at the same time, we still have a plethora of online podcasts and events. They didn't go away. So we've net-net increased the amount of discussions that we're having amongst each other. And that's really important. Another reason, news outlets finally understand, well, just enough to feel comfortable in reporting cybersecurity issues. And that's important because that brings our industry into the window and the eyes of the general public. It's very, very important. And lastly, a greater willingness by executives to, well, stumble forward as they try and embrace cybersecurity. And again, all of this is good. This is getting the discussions, the relevance, the value out there into the world with consumers and suppliers and security vendors and government agencies and critical infrastructure. Everyone's talking about it. We're not where we need to be, but it definitely is a win for 2022. And that's where I see the most positive outcomes. What are yours? What cybersecurity successes did you see in 2022? Add your thoughts to the comment section, and while you're at it, follow me on LinkedIn and subscribe to the Cybersecurity Insights channel for more rants and discussions.
