Cyber Security Scaries for Halloween
Top 5 Scary things to look out for
Complex software and attacks
As technology and software becomes more complex and users have multiplying features within one application, security implications also rise. There are more ways for an attacker to exploit vulnerabilities than ever before – which is a scary prospect!
Cyber attacks are getting more complex week on week. Attackers are known for using phishing attacks to obtain user credentials or any information they can to use on a wider and more destructive attack.
We’ve seen multiple attack methods coupled together to create ever more destructive attacks until they can extract nothing more. Big Data is the trick or treat sugar rush of the hacking world. Hackers see it as a way for them to make a lot of money by extracting the most amount of data in the most efficient way.
Ransomware
Ransomware is on the rise as widely reported in this year’s DCMS’s Cyber Breaches Survey and predicted by DigitalXRAID. It doesn’t need a very high success rate for attackers to make money, so it is being favoured by attacker ghouls around the world.
There are many types of ransomware in that use different exploits to get into systems. This could cause a huge problem not only for individuals, but also for organisations who are being targeted by this. It only takes one person to compromise a whole organisation.
Nation state cyber attacks
There have been an increasing number of nation state cyber attacks in recent years. In the event of a cyberwar today, any small business that is part of a supply chain for publicly-owned organisations or government bodies would be at risk.
Recent attacks show how hackers can frighteningly use back-door entrances through companies with less resource to secure their networks. Cyberwarfare will make supply chains increasingly vulnerable as criminals will look to exploit them to penetrate the wider public sector.
To overcome this, it is imperative for organisations to understand the risk of their involvement with third parties. Regular penetration testing, contractually agreed liability around breaches, and well-defined security policies and frameworks are all key measures that can be adopted to help mitigate vulnerabilities.
5G
5G has changed a lot of how we view security. With such a relatively new technology entering consumer lives, there are sure to be vulnerabilities that arise. Unfortunately gastly hackers will be primed to take advantage of. As the technology proliferates more widely over the next few years, cyber security organisations will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the threats this could pose to businesses and individuals.
IoT
The internet of things is an ever-growing market, with devices from smart fridges and bulbs in homes to huge critical national infrastructure networks utilising devices for essential energy distribution and measurement.
With even more devices that have internet capabilities which carry vulnerabilities, attackers are ghosting some of the old attack techniques and choosing different avenues to explore. These devices could leave the user vulnerable to attacks from vectors they didn’t even believe could be exploited.
Don’t let the cyber threats scare you this Halloween – get in contact with us to learn more about how you can protect your business from cyberattacks 24/7/365.
