Major cybersecurity concerns this year examined

Critical sectors will continue to face cybersecurity threats, ransomware attacks and foreign spyware will persist, and the cybersecurity workforce shortage will remain this year, reports The Hill. The Biden administration has stepped up ransomware defenses for the financial, energy, and healthcare industries since the Colonial Pipeline attack in 2021 but has been urged by industry experts and lawmakers to further bolster their efforts. The U.S. government and industry leaders should collaborate in identifying critical sector vulnerabilities and developing cyber incident response plans, according to Best Buy Cloud Security Engineer Zinet Kemal. Addressing ransomware attacks will also continue to be a priority, with the U.S. and its allies expected to help countries with less ransomware know-how establish their capabilities, said Josephine Wolff, an associate professor of cybersecurity policy at the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Meanwhile, Third Way National Security Program Senior Policy Advisor Mike Sexton noted that while blacklisting NSO Group in 2021 was a big move in combating spyware, complacency should be avoided.