Cyber risks are becoming more lethal with evolving technologies. Security leaders across companies need to remain ahead of and the game, upgrading cybersecurity systems and policies
Global Market Insights anticipates that by 2024, the cybersecurity market will be a $300 billion industry. The 2019 Official Annual Cybercrime Report (ACR) predicts that at least one firm will fall for ransomware attacks every 14 seconds in 2020. This is possible as there is an ample number of hacking tools and software available on the dark web, costing as low as literally $1.
A report by NETSCOUT also disclosed that, on average, any IoT device could be attacked easily within the first five minutes of internet connection.
Looking at these predictions, firms need to keep abreast of the latest cybersecurity trends and ensure they are prepared with the security requirements of the coming year. While refueling the existing cybersecurity systems for 2020, firms should consider the most significant threats that they need to be prepared for:
Cloud attacks
Cloud attacks are continually increasing, correspondingly increased cloud adoption. Firms have slightly more control over private cloud deployments, but the public multi-tenant cloud deployments remain bigger targets for cyber attackers. They are becoming increasingly efficient by studying how the entire cloud technology operates from infrastructure to defenses, building breach strategies accordingly.
In 2020, companies will focus on having more visibility and control over their data across both their cloud environments and on-premises. Organizations with sensitive data will start pressuring their cloud service providers to adopt a high level of data security measures as they apply internally.
Also, as per a report by Security Boulevard, 40% of organizations fail to detect insider threats or can only identify them post the data has left the organization. So 2020 should be the year for proactive insider threat security programs.
Botnet armies
The botnet armies are predicted to become even more widespread in 2020. Though the threat is nothing new, the risk has risen as endpoint devices in households become “connected,” and it opens the doors for widespread takeover. Since 2016, multiple new IoT vendors have entered the market.
This has posed a lot more threats than earlier. In some way, this has also proved beneficial as many industry players have now improvised their operation based on past experiences. As a result, 2020 will see IoT devices being the point of attack in most of the large botnets more than ever before.
When the compromised devices are assembled and employed together to target a single victim, they become a formidable tool. Whether used for computation resources or used to launch denial of service, attacks against the botnet armies will surely increase exponentially in 2020.
Also Read: The Evolving Landscape of IT Security Threats: What Businesses Need to Know
OT ransomware
The Operational Technology (OT) line is expected to fall victim to colossal ransomware threats in 2020. These environments rely heavily on older technology and infrastructure and are not frequently updated to abide by the latest security levels.
These networks are overlooked as they don’t have traditional evident weak points, they are generally not connected to the Internet, and they do not contain too many end-users who can be targeted by phishing attacks.
According to a Telstra 2019 survey conducted over 300 Australian organizations, nearly half of the respondents suffered a cyber-attack in the last year. More than 80% were hit with ransomware, and 51% of companies were forced to pay the ransom.
Although the report indicates a lesser number of cyber-attacks, the truth is that cybercriminals are just employing more innovative techniques to keep the attacks under-cover. Instead of solely attacking the computer systems, they’re now targeting the entire operational technology.
As innovation explodes into every area of human existence, cybersecurity is providing the glue to enable the good and disable the bad for implementing cutting-edge technologies and innovations to reduce the risks associated with the older vulnerabilities. 2020 will bring about a decade of technological excellence, but firms should secure their operations to experience this global transformation.
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