In 2020, with businesses increasingly becoming more technologically advanced and conducting their transactions online, the rate of cybercrime is expected to increase. With lots of personal and confidential information being stored digitally, cybercriminals will make greater attempts to access this data, using more sophisticated as well as advanced tools and strategies.
Since 2015, the cost of cybercrime has been steadily increasing year over year; up from $3 trillion in 2015, the cost of cybercrime globally is projected to increase to $6 trillion by 2021.
With the increased likelihood that your business will face a cyber attack eventually, you must have a robust cybersecurity system in place to guard against this. However, your business can not be completely secure without a full understanding of the cybersecurity challenges and threats that you are expected to face in 2020.
6 Cybersecurity Challenges That You Will Have To Reckon
1) EVOLVING RANSOMWARE STRATEGIES
Ransomware is a cyber attack strategy whereby cybercriminals infect a network by placing malware within it. The malware then encrypts all the data within the network, rendering them useless to the users. A ransom is then demanded by the cybercriminals to decrypt the data, returning it to the users. Failing to pay the ransom may lead the cybercriminals to leave the data encrypted or, in some instances, completely wipe out the data.
The strategies used by cybercriminals to deploy ransomware into networks are expected to evolve in 2020. As people become more aware of ransomware, cybercriminals use more elaborate means to fool users and install the ransomware.
2) CYBER-PHYSICAL ATTACKS
Key critical infrastructure systems such as electrical, water treatment, and transportation systems have modernized their technology in recent years, becoming more reliant on computer systems and networks to operate. This dependence on computer systems and the internet has created a major vulnerability for these critical infrastructures. Cybercriminals can use detected weaknesses to compromise and destabilize the functioning of these infrastructures; this may result in significant chaos as well as societal disruptions.
3) INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) ATTACKS
The Internet of Things refers to regular everyday objects such as televisions, fridges, and watches, among others, having the ability to transmit and receive data over digital networks. Though convenient, IoT devices are especially vulnerable to compromise. With the number of IoT devices increasing yearly and projected to reach 75 billion by 2025, cybercriminals spend a lot of time and money looking for ways to compromise these devices.
Once compromised, these devices can be used for further cyberattacks, blackmailing purposes, or data theft.
4) SEVERE SHORTAGE OF CYBERSECURITY PROFESSIONALS
As the rate of cybercrime has increased in recent years due to businesses conducting their transactions online, there has been a corresponding increase in the demand for cybersecurity professionals. Companies in every business sector are trying to hire more cybersecurity specialists to help maintain their network security. This has led to a severe shortage of qualified cybersecurity specialists, and high premiums offered to those with the required skillsets. This shortage is expected to worsen over time; it is projected that the number of available cybersecurity jobs will increase to 3.5 million globally by 2021 as more businesses switch over to digital transactions and processes.
5) HIGHER ORDER CYBERSECURITY THREATS
Over the past few years, people have become more aware of cybersecurity threats and have modified their online behaviors to guard them. Techniques such as phishing and spear-phishing have become more commonplace and most users generally know not to click on questionable links or download files from suspicious sources. Given this heightened awareness, cybercriminals will make more elaborate efforts and devise other advanced strategies to fool unsuspecting users. One such method is to compromise a user’s account and use it to send phishing emails to other users within a network; the users, seeing an email from a trusted individual, may then be fooled into clicking on the phishing email.
Another method is cryptojacking whereby cybercriminals install malware on devices within a network and use them to mine for cryptocurrency; users are typically unaware that their devices have been compromised. As we progress further in 2020 and beyond, more of these subtle and deceptive cyberattack strategies are to be expected
6) PHISHING KEEPS EVOLVING
Phishing has been in existence since the earliest days of the internet and is one of the most basic strategies used by cybercriminals to compromise business networks. Unsuspecting users click on malicious links within a phishing email which then downloads malware onto the users’ device; if not rapidly recognized and contained, the malware may spread throughout a network, causing a lot of damage and havoc. With the increased awareness of phishing, cybercriminals have resorted to spear-phishing; they use the account of a trusted user within the network to contact and fool other users.
In some instances, they target phishing emails at specific individuals rather than the entire user network. Despite the increased awareness, phishing and spear-phishing are likely to remain a major cybersecurity challenge in 2020.
Conclusion
One way to confront and combat the cybersecurity challenges discussed above is by using Cyber Sainik’s Security as a Service (SECaaS) offering. SECaaS is a cloud-based cybersecurity solution; all the security tools and applications are delivered across the internet to your business. By outsourcing your cybersecurity needs to a trusted third-party SECaaS specialist, you no longer have to worry about finding skilled cybersecurity professionals; this is handled by your provider. In addition, your cybersecurity provider ensures that your network remains updated and secure from the latest threats. Furthermore, with SECaaS, your network is continuously monitored for threats or vulnerabilities; any discovered threats or weaknesses are remedied promptly.
At Cyber Sainik, we specialize in providing cloud-based security solutions for our clients. With our SECaaS offering, our clients can rest assured that their networks are fully secured. We offer premier customer service so that we can be reached by our clients at any time of the day or night. In addition, our high-availability cloud architecture and ultra-low latency network guarantee that your business will never experience downtime. For more information about our services, and to get started, contact us.
