Web reality seems more real than the world we live in. With all the data being transferred and shared on the internet, it’s crucial to make everything possible to protect it from scammers. According to the research, around 90-95% of security breaches are caused by peopleware. While the best minds come up with almost impossible measures for security, simple ignorance or underestimation of the threads can lead to unbelievable financial losses and identity thefts. Therefore, it’s vital to make the end-users more vigilant and aware of the dangers and consequences of their security-neglectful behavior.
The are two major ways to protect the data:
- Hire professionals to provide a highly secure and safe working environment. It’s vital to choose the best company out of the existing ones. In order to reach the experts it’s worth conducting the Competitor Research Survey to make sure that the reputation and service are flawless.
- Enlightening campaign among the workers - everyone is bound to be aware of all the possible threats and dangers, and feel responsible for the company's security. As the practice shows, the majority of the scams wouldn’t have worked, if the passwords were not easy.
What are the threads to expect in 2023?
Phishing
Phishing is as old as the world, yet people still buy it. This type of cybercrime involves contacting individuals through emails, phones, or text messages, aiming to steal their sensitive data like bank account details, and financial or personal information. As a result, financial loss will seem like the least of evils, compared to identity theft.
Unlike the initial simple phishing letters, nowadays hackers use more elaborate techniques, as they understand that the level of awareness is higher than usual. That’s why they choose the potential victim and gather the information in order to create a clear and targeted assault.
One of the easiest ways to fight this is simple filtering. Typically messages from untrustworthy websites or ones which include malicious payloads are sent directly to spam. However, it’s also crucial to teach the staff to recognize the threads and ignore them.
Besides, there’s AI, which gathers information from various sources, and systems, and analyzes potential danger.
Cloud Security
With the recent shift of life into the internet space, businesses need a warehouse for their information, which increased the demand for cloud solutions. Cloud service is an excellent opportunity for the company as it is cost-efficient and adjustable. However, they still lack a proper level of authentication and audit, which is the reason for the vulnerability,
In order to protect against cybercriminals, companies should consider preventive security measures, such as penetration testing, and anticipating possible attacks.
The rise of ransomware
Ransomware isn’t a new type of internet thread yet it still possesses a great deal of danger, multiplying year by year. Ransomware is a type of malware that threatens to reveal private data or block access to it unless a ransom is paid. While some can just lock a system, others can damage numerous files, causing problems for the company.
Ransomware is a relatively easy type of money extortion. It's especially been on the rise since the pandemic, as it stimulated the development of a digital world through and through. The number of attacks and financial demands significantly increased.
The scheme is quite typical - stealing data, encrypting it, victim blackmailing, and ransom obtaining.
Social engineering
Social engineering is a type of psychological manipulation forcing people into performing various actions or disclosing confidential information. This is another way of phishing that is relatively old, yet with the rise of remote work, it experiences the rise. The attackers are also changing their focus - from simple employees to executives of the organization.
One of the quite recognizable methods used is ‘smishing’, or SMS phishing, performed over WhatsApp, Slack, Skype, Signal, WeChat, etc., making users download the malware. ‘Vishing’, or voice phishing, hackers pretend to be IT or bank specialists and trick people into sharing essential information.
The more protective software being developed, the more sophisticated methods arise to fool the users.
Multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication has been used for a while, as it adds another layer of security for data protection. However, the system is experiencing certain changes. Instead of SMS and phone-calls approval, banks and other organizations turn towards application-based authentication. The major reason for such a change is the high risk of man-in-the-middle attacks, making one of the golden standards of security vulnerabilities.
Mobile cybersecurity
Remote work forced people into the usage of various mobile devices. What’s more, there’s a need to switch between several devices simultaneously using remote collaboration tools and different channels of connectivity. Hackers use the vulnerability of Android systems for data and identity theft.
Mobile cybersecurity relates to front- and back-end, cloud, network security, and all the connected devices and applications. The one and only way to protect everything with a single click hasn’t been invented yet, however, more and more layers of security are added, making sure the sensitive data is under control.
Apart from business, hackers target kids and teenagers, as they are less vigilant about the threads.
Healthcare sector
The Healthcare system is a huge hierarchy of clinics, hospitals, polyclinics, patients, medicine, etc. It contains a great deal of personal and financial information as well, as everything is linked to insurance companies, pharmacies, etc. Unfortunately, scams in healthcare can lead to irreversible changes.
Cryptocurrency threads
If there’s something that benefits from the Internet taking the lead all over the world, that’s definitely cryptocurrency, the money-of-tomorrow. The entire market of cryptocurrency is quite unstable nowadays, which constantly keeps it under the microscope. With all the inflation, high-interest rates, and economic recession, people tend to pay more attention to the way to earn and save money. “Spend zero - earn a million” is a typical hook for those who want easy money, leading them into debt. It’s crucial to check all the company’s credentials, financial information, and legitimacy of campaigns before embarking on cooperation with them.
The virtual world is running our life nowadays. All the sensitive data which appears on the internet is in potential danger of being stolen or taken advantage of. To make sure your Internet presence is protected, it’s crucial to anticipate problems and do everything to prevent them: the team of highly-qualified IT-security specialists, and basic knowledge of cyber security by every employee.
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