The acceleration of digital due to COVID-19 has taken many forms, and a major area of cyber concern is the intricate interconnection of traditional Internet Cloud data with many new “Smart” devices, grids, operations and overall systems. This includes input from many sectors – healthcare, industry, food & other supply chains, and many forms of infrastructure. Holistically, they are referred to as the Extended IoT (XIoT). A report from industrial cybersecurity firm, Claroty, looks at the rapidly evolving situation, key vulnerabilities, and why hackers’ ability to bypass the need for user action has opened the door for unauthenticated attackers to gain a network foothold and then move laterally—and quietly through a network to launch ransomware or perform other harms.