Technology has made our life easier and better, but they are not perfect. Our technology has flaws that have left millions of devices exposed to attackers. Ransomware was off the chart in 2021. While everybody was battling the uncertainty of a pandemic to work from home and economic instability, hackers were extorting millions upon millions of dollars from companies around the world.
There were also cyberattacks launched by state-sponsored hackers linked to major economies. As we continue to embed our life with technology, ransomware is going to become more and more prevalent, especially for small and medium-sized businesses that don’t have the necessary budget to protect themselves.
It is estimated that there was three times more ransomware in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 2019. For instance, the increased number of ransomware attacks has caused cybersecurity developers and businesses to build new applications to combat the phenomenon.
But a major challenge for cybersecurity developers is that hackers earn so much money from extortion that they’re able to buy more robust and sophisticated systems and hire better programmers. Thus, making them even harder to eradicate in the future. Moreover, as technology is taking big leaps in our life by the day, hackers are getting even smarter and more aggressive.
And each leap in technological advancement is dominated by the fallout of newly discovered software vulnerability. More than ever before, we are conducting our personal lives and business activities online making us more vulnerable, thus making cybersecurity a key issue.
The future of cybersecurity is difficult to foresee as the market is constantly evolving. Cybercriminals keep shifting their activities and usually, you don’t know their next move. The internet has allowed anyone to become whoever they want. And what’s more dangerous is that we put so much personal data on networking sites that we are living online.
And if hackers get ahold of this information they can pervert our identity and try to modify the truth to manipulate us. And once they get their hand on our devices, they can show us exactly what they want us to see and make us believe what they want us to believe. They have the power to completely alter our notion of truth. Top cybersecurity experts are warning the threat isn’t going away soon.
The increasing dynamism and complexity of our world are putting us in more danger of cyberattacks. In the highly digital world we are living, everybody is concerned with cyber and what’s worst is that attackers continuously enhanced their capabilities to go after us and weaponize us. Cyberwarfare is a real thing and is something that’s concerning all of us.
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Trends in cybersecurity
As the digital revolution continues, so do cyberattacks. If the right tools aren’t in place, cybercriminals can steal personal information or even shut down operations if the wrong data is released. And with so many people working remotely, businesses are more vulnerable to destructive cyberattacks than ever before.
A growing number of people are working remotely. This new trend presents both benefits and risks. Remote workers often have less access to company security measures. As a result, they are a prime target for cybercriminals. Furthermore, many organizations are enabling employees to use work devices while working from home.
IBM reported that remote work increases the cost of data breaches by $137,000 on average. As more companies adopt remote working models, their cybersecurity protocols must become more robust. And the increased edge computing resources where data is operated as close as possible to its point of collection, as well as centralized cloud infrastructure are creating more vulnerabilities.
To combat these threats, organizations need to be continually updated with the latest cybersecurity trends. One of the key trends in cybersecurity is the increasing importance of mobile devices. With more mobile users, cybercriminals can use these devices to access information that could be sensitive. Not to mention that data is the currency of the modern world and data brokers exploit these for benefits.
Another trend in cybersecurity involves the increasing use of social media to target companies and consumers. Financial services also suffer from cybersecurity challenges, including the growing number of regulations and cloud migration. Additionally, phishing attacks are becoming increasingly common in the financial services industry.
In fact, social media has become a major cybersecurity trend in the financial services sector. And with a lot of smart city projects being erected around the world, the reality of large cyberattacks or cyberwarfare surfaced. Smart cybersecurity plays a promising and important role in identifying, filtering, neutralizing and remedying cyberthreats.
A recent study shows that mobile banking malware attacks have increased by 50% in the first half of 2019 alone. Meanwhile, ransomware is circulating through phishing emails to lure users into clicking malicious links. Ransomware attacks are likely to increase. They can make or break a company’s business, so it’s crucial to stay updated on current trends.
Internet of vulnerable things
The amount of connected devices known as the Internet of Things (IoT) is forecast to reach 13 billion in 2022 and 19 billion in 2025. Which hugely increased the number of potential access points for criminals looking to gain access to secure digital systems. The IoT is a network of connected devices that aims at increasing the efficiency of people’s lives.
The IoT is known for storing and transferring valuable data about the user. It has long been recognized as a specific threat. Hackers can use the most vulnerable connected household appliances to gain access to networks and from there go on to access computers or phones.
The internet of things is becoming more sophisticated and generating more data, enabling many organizations to develop digital twins or comprehensive digital simulations of entire systems. These models are often connected to operating systems that offer a trove of data and access points to criminals.
Everything is turning smart with IoT. We are automating our homes, creating smart cities and smart homes as well as smart buildings and smart offices. IoT devices often have inherent vulnerabilities that are hard to mitigate. Healthcare services are also turning smart with the Internet of Medical Things and remote patient monitoring as well as our movement are being tracked with the Internet of Behavior.
Insecure devices act as stepping stones for adversaries and by having structured information on IoT vulnerabilities, manufacturers can address the security issues that may plague them. Securing IoT devices is the utmost priority to maintain digital trust as well as protection the mental health of citizens.
A recent report published by Forescout offers some insights into the vulnerabilities of the Internet of Things. Specifically, they examined the TCP/IP stacks of a wide variety of devices and how those flaws can be mitigated. Some of these devices such as virtual assistants and smart appliances were found to be vulnerable.
These devices are difficult to update and thus serve as easy entry points for hackers. Some projects are attempting to develop separate databases of these vulnerabilities. VARIoT is one such project. It has been working for two decades to create such a database. However, it may take a while before the project can be fully developed.
Among the security risks associated with the Internet of vulnerable things is physical damage. Whenever a device is left in the open, a hacker may clone the firmware and create a malicious counterpart. Hackers can also manipulate data through radio frequency signals to gain access to devices. By gaining access to the controller area, hackers can execute malicious activities. Therefore, security is critical.
As the adoption of IoT technology has grown exponentially, security is critical. For this reason, network designers and operators are implementing security measures, such as fault injection shielding and sandboxing. Deep learning has also several benefits in the case of IoT security.
A learning-based approach has the advantage of being able to differentiate between common defaults. It allows for a more sophisticated attack to be detected early on. Another benefit of a learning-based approach is that it can be used in resource-constrained IoT systems. Deep learning can help identify malware before it can reach its final stage which is crucial for the safety of an IoT network.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity
As the attack surface of a company grows and becomes more complex, organizations are faced with analyzing hundreds of billions of data points every day. Human intelligence is insufficient to handle such a huge amount of data. With the use of artificial intelligence in cybersecurity, the human workforce no longer has to manually analyze and improve cyber-security.
With AI-driven cybersecurity, organizations can reduce the risk of cybersecurity violations and strengthen their overall safety position. AI is capable of automating many aspects of security, including the detection of unknown network devices and recommending appropriate security defenses. These technologies can also sift through vast amounts of data and determine which security defenses will be most effective.
By automating these processes, AI-based systems can also detect key linguistic patterns used by hackers. Augmented intelligence can help cybersecurity teams make better use of their limited resources by recommending resources and processes that can help them defend their networks.
With the use of AI, cybersecurity developers can address vulnerabilities themselves, detect security issues before they can be exploited and repel cyberattacks. Merging AI with cybersecurity provides additional benefits for information management. According to the latest numbers, AI in cybersecurity is projected to reach over USD 38 billion by 2026.
AI can analyze risk data from structured as well as unstructured resources. IT security teams are increasingly recognizing that AI is essential for securing data. It can replace manual systems management, alert them to potential threats, detect and respond to incidents and even identify malicious attacks before they occur.
These capabilities are making AI an indispensable technology for the modern security team. AI can help IT security professionals minimize breach issues and strengthen the security posture of organizations. This is why many companies are leveraging AI in cybersecurity. However, there are risks associated with using AI in cybersecurity.
While AI is useful for cybersecurity professionals, it can also be used by malicious hackers to increase their productivity and profit. While researchers are still learning more about how cybercriminals are using AI, it is evident that there is room for further improvement in the field. Some researchers believe that AI will be the next requirement for cybersecurity professionals.
Whether it will replace human analysts or create new threats, AI is a promising tool for the next generation of security professionals. Researchers have long predicted that AI will be the next big thing in cybersecurity. It has been hailed as the answer to the ever-growing cyber threats, but the question of whether or not it will be useful for cybercrime defense is a hot debate.
Moreover, new AI technologies are being unveiled by the day which poses more cybersecurity threats. This means future vulnerabilities of AI are poorly understood at release time. Just like IoT, AI systems can become a major target for hackers, with more organizations relying on the technology for mission-critical operations.
And Artificial Intelligence also offers hackers a new way to hit target organizations. Additionally, more tools and experts for cyber security will be needed to build techniques to detect and combat AI corruption attacks.
Machine Learning in cybersecurity
Artificial intelligence has become an underlying technology in many sectors over the past few years. Today, it is possible to use AI and machine learning algorithms to automate jobs, analyze the epitome amount of data generated daily and make better decisions much faster than a person ever could.
Companies are embracing the use of AI to make their security systems more secure. The importance of machine learning in today’s digital world cannot be overstated. The use of machine learning which is a process that trains AI to recognize patterns and learn from experience is a prime example of the benefits of artificial intelligence in cybersecurity.
By analyzing massive volumes of data with lightning speed, AI can help companies identify and prevent cyber threats. AI can also detect and identify cyber threats by assessing the risk of malicious activities while removing human error. Effective cybersecurity technology can’t be deployed without relying heavily on machine learning.
We generate so much data each day that cybersecurity developers can use to better secure infrastructure. The vast amount of data can help cybersecurity teams be more proactive in the prevention of threats and the real-time response to active attacks. This can also reduce the amount of time spent on repetitive activities and allow companies to use their resources more strategically.
And once implemented, machine learning will make cybersecurity easier, more proactive, less expensive and more efficient. Machine learning techniques can also help protect IoT devices against a variety of attacks. For example, a support vector machine can recognize malicious activities on IoT networks.
A machine learning approach can be used to determine which specific network layer attacks are taking place. These attacks are not limited to IoT devices but can target a variety of other devices and networks. Hence, using machine learning algorithms is another effective method to protect these systems.
However, the underlying data needed to support machine learning and to offer a full image can be overwhelming. And deploying machine learning effectively can be perplexing. Without a comprehensive bridge and complete approach to the underlying data, cybersecurity systems cannot identify patterns with machine learning and learn from them.
To help prevent repeated attacks and respond to the changing behavior, there is a need for a vast amount of data that is accurate and up to date otherwise, it will be useless. The AI capabilities of machine learning can help identify intruders using past insights and past patterns. However, this is still in its infancy and has a long way to go before it will be widely adopted in cybersecurity.
Ransomware
Ransomware has evolved to new levels of sophistication. Demands have skyrocketed and the money demanded to decrypt the data is now in the tens of millions of dollars. The reasons behind this rise are varied, some simple and others complex. As connectivity becomes more common, threat actors have dedicated themselves to honing their craft.
The rise of ransomware has resulted in hackers residing undetected within victims’ environments and selling high-value data to cybercriminals. The goal of ransomware is to encrypt and lock critical data and systems so that the owners of the computer can’t access them. The software can lock a computer, delete files or encrypt all information.
As mentioned earlier, there were three times more ransomware attacks in the first quarter of 2021 than there were in the whole of 2019. Ransomware typically involves infecting devices with a virus that locks away data behind unbreakable cryptology. This allows hackers to have full control over the data and can threaten to destroy or disclose it unless a ransom is paid.
Alternatively, if the ransom is not paid, the software virus may publish the data to the public leaving the organization liable to enormous consequences. But it does not stop there, once hackers gain access to the data, more ransom opportunities emerge. The hackers can target customers as well as business partners because they have their data.
Ransomware is typically employed through phishing attacks where a representative of an organization is tricked into providing details or clicking a link that downloads the malicious software or malware. But the malware can also come from direct infection via USB devices or by a person who has physical access to the targeted machines.
There has been an increase in the types of attacks targeting critical infrastructures such as hospitals or power grids that can cripple an entire economy. The most effective method of tackling this threat is by spreading awareness.
Supercomputer
The human factor has to some extent become a weakness in cybersecurity. And it will probably shrink even more as we become more immersed in digital interconnectivity, reliance on the Internet of things and adopt remote working. Hence, locating cyberthreats is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
For example, the amount of internet traffic data generated in 48 hours is too substantial for one or even 100 human analysts to process into something digestible. For this purpose, some analysts rely on sampling to identify possible threats or try to detect unusual behavior. However, although sampling can work for certain tasks, the identification of subtler threatening patterns may be inadequate.
This is why supercomputing is a promising trend in cybersecurity. Using supercomputers for detecting cyber threats can improve and provides a detailed model of regular background network traffic. With the internet traffic data, researchers can bring anomalous activity to the surface more readily. Supercomputers can detect and expose bugs quickly and allow developers to repair the threats before it’s too late.
Conclusion
With the increased adoption of digital devices and the production of data, it is anticipated that cyberattacks will quadruple in the near future. Organizations are going to need to invest heavily in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity professionals must work as a team to protect their organizations.
Cybersecurity teams should have clear roles and responsibilities, and they must collaborate to combat unexpected threats to the network. They are the backbone of security performance management, interpreting data and making decisions to prevent data breaches. A strong cybersecurity team is the most important step toward data security.
Individuals also have their part to play like using secure internet connections, secure websites, checking links before clicking, keeping system software strong and up to date, ensuring if there is endpoint protection, installing a firewall to block any attacks, backup data, two-step authentication and control access to systems, don’t let people plug in random drives.
But above all education and spreading awareness is the most important one since most people don’t know the severity of the situation. On a bigger level, governments need to put safeguards, treaties and policies in place to address cyberattacks. It won’t happen overnight but the effort must begin.
Although these solutions are a good start to addressing some vulnerabilities, more threats will emerge as hackers will find new ways to break through a system because it is their job. Hence, more work will be needed to safeguard us from cyber threats. Cybersecurity is something that each individual has to take as seriously as possible.
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