Cyber security is becoming an increasingly important issue for businesses around the world, creating significant headaches for the financial and reputable cost unprepared boards of data breaches.
Although technology helps improve the operations of companies through various innovative methods, the number of cyber security threats that companies have to deal with has increased.
Here is a list of some of the key issues that companies need to consider as we go deeper into the year.
1. Ransomware
We previously covered the risk of ransomware on our blog, and the latest McAfee Labs 2017 threats forecast report states that this type of malware will be an issue for businesses in the second half of this year.
Ransomware generally prevents users from accessing important information and data on their computers or networks until payment is made. However, cybercriminals do not always release the devices once they encounter the ransom money and often try to extort more money from the victims.
2. Denial of service (DTOs) attacks
The DDoS attacks have disabled many big names over the past few years, including the BBC, cloud-based internet performance management company TIN and the presidential campaign of trusted Donald Trump.
DDOS attacks will in some cases not only be measured as a terabyte per second this year but will increase the frequency to a total of 10 million attacks,” said Bill Everson, UK head of cyber risk services at Deloitte.
The scale and extent of such violations will challenge the security of companies regardless of size.
3. Hacktivism
Not all cybercriminals are for-profit, and the rise of Hacktivism means that increasing numbers of people are entering computer systems for politically or socially charged reasons.
These attacks are far more harmful than traditional threats because hockey activists often attempt to issue a statement, so their efforts generally have a very public impact on a company’s reputation.
There are also significant security concerns if Hacktivism may violate security measures or release documents that pose national security risks.
4. The Internet of Things (IoT)
McAfee estimates that by 2019, about 1.8 billion connected devices will be in consumer’s hands. Hacking such systems will become more common in the coming years, with ransomware and hacktivism being considered major problem areas.
There is also a significant privacy threat as smart devices usually contain a significant amount of sensitive information that cybercriminals can access. According to McAfee, some of the products sold this year may have already installed doors that criminals can alienate.
5. Drone-jacking
Companies and consumers are using drones in new and exciting ways, and cyber criminals have the opportunity to take advantage of this growing popularity by hacking technology.
Experts have already shown how easy it is to pick up a toy drone, land it on the roof of a house or business and hack local wireless networks, the McAfee report said.
6. Insider threats
Businesses not only face external threats; There is a significant potential for cyber security issues to arise locally. In fact, the IBM 2016 Cyber Security Intelligence Index found that 60 percent of data breaches in the previous year were caused by internal threats.
Of these, more than two-thirds were malicious intent, and the remaining incidents were due to ‘careless actors’. The latter refers to innocent individuals who accidentally allowed attackers access to information or failed to follow security measures.
7. Machine learning
Machine learning algorithms allow businesses to perform complex data analysis tasks on large volumes of data at unique speeds with minimal data manual input.
The technology is used to detect fraud, predict the success of marketing campaigns, automate consumer product recommendations, and many other innovative applications.
However, McAfee predicts that machine learning will encourage people to commit crimes such as assisting fraudsters in identifying high-value targets among large databases.
8. Mobile malware
As more and more people use mobile devices to do everyday business tasks, cyber criminals are more likely to try to exploit the weaknesses in technology.
Kaspersky Lab recently tripled its number of mobile malware attacks between 2015 and 2016, with the company identifying 8.5 million malicious installations. The organization also found that the incidence of both mobile banking Trojans and mobile ransomware increased 1.6-fold over a 12-month period.
9. Fake ads and feedback
Consumers are often bombarded with online ads, and the proliferation of fake ads and phishing attacks have eroded confidence in the net-based marketing network.
Meanwhile, purchased ‘options’ and other fabricated feedback increase the problem, making customers doubt the validity of various online advertising methods.
Even businesses that are not involved in such activities may find fake ads and other bad marketing tactics affecting their legitimate campaigns.