Technology has become an integral part of our lives today whether you love or hate it. The digital landscape has expanded as more people work remotely and companies resort to online business. Although this has opened many opportunities and connected people and processes on a larger scale, there is a rise in cybersecurity threats and digital fraud.
Recently, major companies worldwide have fallen victim to data breaches and cybercrime. Cyber-attacks have become more sophisticated, especially in the pandemic. Hence, IT security is the top priority for IT teams of a majority of organizations.
Top 10 Cybersecurity threats you should take note of
Here is a list of major cyber security threats today:
- Cloud security threats
- Phishing attacks
- Internet of Things (IoT) Threats
- Deepfakes
- Remote work threats
- Insider security threats
- Social media threats
- Threat due to mobile malware
- Dronejacking
- Malicious advertising
Let us look at these cyber threats in more detail.
1] Cloud security threats
As more companies adopt digital transformation, cloud migration has gained precedence. However, this rapid cloud migration strategy has opened up businesses to many security threats and potential crimes. Cloud storage misconfiguration, inconsistent data deletion, and low visibility and access control measures have increased the cloud security vulnerabilities.
2] Phishing attacks
A phishing attack is one where the hacker emails you links or attachments, pretending to be someone familiar, say your boss or bank, but with an altered email address. They may ask you to give your personal information like your account details etc. Phishing attacks can result in the loss of sensitive company information, credential theft, ransomware attacks, and security breaches. Cybercriminals manage to create phishing attacks via the company’s cloud applications. Additionally, since this type of cybercrime is relatively new, it can exploit the employee’s trust in the company. Companies should utilize the latest email phishing software and provide relevant employees with training to protect against such attacks.
3] Internet of Things (IoT) Threats
With the digital revolution, there is an increase in the usage of IoT devices like smart security systems and smart fitness trackers, which are vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. The year 2020 showed us the IoT botnet. The botnet was added to vulnerable access control systems, especially in office buildings. If an employee enters such an office building via keycard swipe or fingerprint recognition, the infected system would put the employee’s data at risk.
4] Deepfakes
A Deepfake cybersecurity threat utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to manipulate an existing image or video of a person, making it appear as though something that has not happened has occurred. Such deepfake activity is used to commit fraud via synthetic identities and, it has led to the existence of deepfake-as-a-service companies. Deepfakes have also been instrumental in creating more sophisticated phishing scams leading to business losses.
5] Remote work threats
With the start of the pandemic, there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of remote workers. We have also seen several organizations opting for permanent work from home, which has led to an increase in hacker threats.
Remote work greatly misses the layer of network perimeter security, usually existing in office building infrastructures. Hence, hackers can quickly break through the remote working environment by exploiting improperly secured VPNs and accessing company servers. It leads to vulnerabilities to company-sensitive information.
6] Insider security threats
Insider security threats involve malicious attacks and improper use of data, systems, and processes by employees. They can affect both small and big enterprises but smaller businesses are at a greater risk as employees can access more data and systems through internal networks than in large businesses. A good security measure would be to put appropriate access controls in the organization. Also, the organizations should aptly respond and monitor potential insider threats.
7] Social media threats
Cybercriminals are also targeting the social media presence of both individuals and businesses. This type of attack involves announcing a fake event or product, prompting visitors to click a registration URL that redirects to a fake website. It is by using the identity of a legitimate business. Any user entering through the fake URLs is at risk of losing their credentials to potential fraud. The negligible use of proper identity verification methods increases the likelihood of such attacks.
8] Threat due to mobile malware
Many remote workers are now using mobile devices for work online. This move from desktops to smartphones has increased the vulnerabilities to company-sensitive information. An attack due to mobile malware includes malicious software on a mobile device. With a huge amount of company-sensitive information stored on mobile data, mobile malware attacks can pose serious security threats to an organization.
9] Dronejacking
With drone jacking, cybercriminals use different types of drones to target users’ personal information. Camera crews, security systems, and law enforcement agencies mainly use drones. With improper security, they can control the drone hardware and pose a security threat to organizations like Amazon, which deliver essentials to customers. With drone jacking, hackers determine how many products will be delivered to which customers. The aftereffect of such malicious attacks affects the security standards of an organization and its overall reputation with customers.
10] Malicious advertising
Malicious advertising, also called malvertising, involves using online ads to spread malware. It is by adding a suspicious code into ads displayed on websites via legitimate online advertising networks. It includes “fake alert” attacks where a malicious ad can cause the target user to take harmful action in the interest of the hacker. Scams, such as “technical support scams,” involve the target user unintentionally providing remote access to their system. It leads to the compromise of potentially sensitive information.
Summary
As technology continues to evolve, cybersecurity threats will increase in various ways. It puts a lot of pressure on companies to build up their security to guard against such attacks. Hence, every organization needs to build its network security, update security measures as required, monitor threats regularly, and respond to them appropriately. Having an apt incident response management can greatly help both the organization and their customers to deal with any crisis.
What are the top 10 cyber security threats identified recently?
Recent top 10 cybersecurity threats include ransomware, zero-day vulnerabilities, defense evasion techniques, phishing scams, sophisticated malware, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, supply chain infiltrations, insider threats, business email compromise (BEC), and cloud security breaches.
How can I stop cyber threats?
It is not always possible to stop a cyber threat. But it is possible to stay aware and safe of such crimes as much as possible. Knowledge regarding cyber threats and malicious ways of cyber attacks by cybercriminals can save the day.
