Cybersecurity: Major Threats

As technology broadens its horizons, the security of an organization's data is at greater risk.

Cyber threats, online hacks, phishing, etc. are on the rise, and with the pandemic forcing companies to work remotely, the number of security complaints worldwide has grown exponentially. Many organizations have moved on to digital transformation initiatives, overshadowing security for the sake of convenience. This has led to serious security threats that need to be addressed ahead of time to protect against corporate data leakage.

Here are some examples of possible cybercrimes:

  • Emails with malicious links or opening attachments with a virus

  • Phishing attacks

  • Writing malware

  • Ransomware attacks

  • Social engineering

  • Cryptojacking

In 2020, the cyber threat has affected businesses of all sizes and segments, but small and medium-sized industries are gaining increasing attention. Criminals have struggled to exploit the teleworking mechanism, compromising data quality, and sharing. It is an essential component for enterprises to be well prepared for these attacks and to protect their information from such threats.

Statistics highlight the risk of cybercrime if not properly addressed. According to Gartner, the global information security market will grow at a CAGR of 8.5% over five years and will reach $ 170.4 billion in 2022. The current information security and cybersecurity industry shows that 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error, and the average global cost of data breaches for SMEs is $ 3.9 million.

Courtesy of: https://www.statista.com/statistics/595182/worldwide-security-as-a-service-market-size/

In looking at the risks associated with weakening cybersecurity, it is vital to understand what threats we currently face and why companies need to be well prepared to deal with them.

Here are some of the top threats you may face in 2021.

Increased remote work

Due to the pandemic, teleworking has become the new normal around the world. While it has its advantages such as flexibility in time and security from a pandemic, teleworking poses a huge security risk to enterprises that transfer sensitive data and information on their network. Network security measures and the security of private and corporate information are at stake. Enhancements are required with specific security protocols such as SSL, TLS, VPN, IPSec, etc. to prevent any potential attack threat and protect your remote team from cyber-attacks. Enterprise-grade insecurity is the biggest threat to organizations and the most attractive target for cybercriminals.

Businesses and developers can protect themselves from these threats by providing continuous software updates and using popular tools such as firewalls, malware scanners, and virtual private networks to maintain protection. Breaking and attack simulation software can also be implemented to provide enhanced security.

Phishing attacks

Phishing has always been a pervasive cybersecurity threat, but it has become more prevalent lately due to pandemic protocols and procedures. Phishing activities triggered by the pandemic, such as phishing emails with malicious links and attachments, have added more stress to people, on top of everything else that happens. Even phishing using SMS has increased.

More than 20% of hacks have been proven to be due to phishing. There are cases of PDF scams that force users to open PDFs and cause additional harm. This is a newer form of phishing and is more susceptible to users than email phishing. If this continues, we will see new security threats such as account hijacking by hackers, credential theft, email compromise, ransomware, and more.

Cloud data leaks

Like telecommuting, the pandemic has forced organizations to do everything in the cloud because of its significant benefits, such as full visibility and control over data, cost savings, reliability, mobility, and more.

There are security loopholes in the cloud that have caused serious data breaches. Data failures such as incomplete deletion of data, misconfiguration of storage and containers, lack of security controls in cloud applications, etc., are becoming more and more frequent. Enforcing data protection policies, setting limits on data sharing, preventing data migration to unmanaged devices, and encrypting sensitive data with secure keys will give you much more control over cloud systems.

Internet of Things (IoT) device security threat

The times of change have simplified and expanded the use of IoT devices, gaining many benefits such as mobility, new business opportunities, flexibility, increased productivity, lower costs, better customer experience, etc. But the security aspect of these devices is missing, which leads to them. misuse. Even though they are constantly improving, IoT devices still lack the high level of security that can prevent most cybercrime. Cybercriminals easily penetrate the Internet of Things networks and from there into the IT systems of organizations.

Complicated safety rules and regulations

There are certain systems of rules and regulations, such as the GDPR, that organizations strictly follow. These protocols help organizations protect their data from malicious attacks. Due to changing times and organizational behavior, 2021 will see updates to old security practices that are no longer applied. This will weaken application security, increase access to private information, and result in comparatively fewer application tests.

Less availability of skilled resources and the ability to track cybercrime

Cyber threats are growing, and IT infrastructure is expanding. Thus, the need for a professional security regime is imperative. However, compared to the demand, there are no qualified resources. There are a limited number of programmers who have a deep understanding of security and can protect organizations from the malicious hands of the cybercrime world. This year, companies will begin recruiting talent or pushing their current employees to learn the latest security measures to protect themselves from cyberattacks.

Deepfakes

Deepfake refers to manipulating an existing image / video to showcase actions that have not happened yet. It leverages the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning and is considered a serious cyber threat to watch out for this year. Deepfakes can create fraudulent identities and give people access to phishing threats. It is vital to target users on the powerful yet fraudulent capabilities of deepfakes. Computers must be trained to detect fake videos using advanced artificial intelligence technologies to limit negative impact. Even using Blockchain will prove useful in protecting users from the dangers of deepfakes.

Malicious ads

Malicious advertising refers to the misuse of online advertising to create malware. As the advertising world expands, so too do malicious ad attempts. The ad space is bought from trusted sites, and although the ad looks fine, it contains malicious code. These malicious ads redirect users to the wrong websites or have malware installed on their devices. These are new ways of malicious cyberattacks such as ransomware, banking Trojans, cryptomining scripts, money making malware, etc., which may grow this year. It is still not clear how these attacks originate, but this is still a matter of serious concern.

Providing access to your database and credential components

The high level of disclosure of data to the outside world increases the likelihood that the main components of databases will be disclosed by cybercrime. Through a variety of methods, such as stealing login information, user access data, customer data, financial data, or personal information, database components can be at high risk if not properly secured. This type of cybercrime, more commonly known as credential populations, is becoming increasingly common and must be confronted by all businesses before it occurs.

Cyberattacks from social networks

Social media is constantly in the news due to negative advertising and malicious behavior. Until now, people have been persecuted because of this. Moving further in the negative direction, there is now a tendency to harm the business. By using malicious links, users can be encouraged to participate in various business sessions of use, which can lead to dangerous cases of sharing their own information, ineffective verification, or disclosure of the organization's data to the outside world.

Cyberattacks from social networks

Hoping for a world free of cybercrime is ideal, but in practice it won't work. At the very least, we can be prepared to confront all kinds of threats and overcome the negative consequences that they cause.

Organizations need to be well prepared in advance to ensure maximum security when establishing them.

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