Cybersecurity threats are evolving, the increasing bandwidth of cyber-attacks has shaken up the entire IT sector. Cyber-attacks are now more sophisticated than ever, attackers now use advanced malware and machine learning to hack into complex systems. This activity has put private and government organizations at a constant risk and high alert.
Even last year cybersecurity threats were a huge problem according to a recent data breach index published at Forbes, almost 3,800 breaches were reported daily which is a 55% increase from 2018. This is huge influx in attacks and has got big tech companies around the world on high alert. From banking, healthcare, entertainment or even government organizations, everyone is subjected to these cyber-attacks. That is why the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals is high more than ever.
Here are the emerging cybersecurity threats that you should look out for in 2020:
Emerging cyber threats in 2020:
- Emerging technologies:
Everyday there is a new web technology available in the market, whether it’s an SEO related product or something related to user interface, emerging technologies are almost most vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Advance technologies like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence will have a great impact on the cybersecurity industry this year. For example, as AI becomes popular more and more vendors will start using it their platforms which will subject it to increasing cyber-attacks. The problem with emerging technologies is that they have blind spots when it comes to security measures and because have them being new into the market, it would take time for them to adapt.
- Cloud Computing:
Many organizations have already migrated their entire digital infrastructure on Cloud, the basic assumption around cloud computing was that it will tolerate as cyber-attacks, which isn’t the case. The biggest mistake you can every do is to underestimate cyber threats, is this fast changing world with countless cybersecurity certification and cloud bootcamp is accessible to anyone and with change times, hackers are changing as well. In fact one of the biggest cybersecurity breach that happened last year happened at Capital One, who have their entire framework built of Cloud platform.
There is no doubt that cloud hacking will pick up more pace in 2020, but this is where qualified cybersecurity professionals come in. Cybersecurity professional increase the complexity of cloud system which makes it harder to hackers to penetrate in to.
- Internet of Things
The Internet of Things will be a Trillion $ market by 2025. To say that Internet of things be huge in the future would be more than fair. Even today each one of us has encounter a smart device at some point of their lives, google is even giving away some for free. But there is a downside to this as well, with increase in connectivity among devices they are being exposed to cyber-attacks as well.
After all the Internet of Things industry has started to get on its feet and companies will try to get their product out as soon as possible which may leave some blind spots for security checks. Many studies have indicated that more than 60% Internet of Things devices will be subjected to cyber-attacks every day and with changing smartphones and device structures it will be hard for cybersecurity professionals to program security measures into these devices.
- Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks are what keep cyber-attackers alive, with new technologies being launched every day they are bound to have security loopholes and cyber-attackers won’t let this opportunity pass by. Almost all industrial, educational, health and even defense sectors become affected by phishing attacks last year.
Phishing may be an old cyber-attack technique but it still the most persistent one. In fact many big scale data braches actually start with phishing attacks, in 2018 Verizon technologies conducted a survey and found that 80% of data breaches have phishing components attached to them.
- Deep fake Attacks
Deep fakes refer to fake videos created by using images artificial intelligence, this combination yield videos that appear to be real life but are fake in nature, it’s the Photoshop of this age. Technologists fear that deep fakes will be a huge game player in the world of cybersecurity in 2020. Phishing attacks will become more sophisticated by the fabricated videos that will lead to loss in valuable information.
How to prevent cyberattacks from happening?
The best possible solutions is to bring outside resource for assistance in information security matters, many professional who have completed their cybersecurity training online are available for hire at fair rates. Having an effective cybersecurity infrastructure is a good investment for all digital businesses. Here are some tips for preventing cyber-attacks in 2020:
- Identify threats effectively
Don’t through your resources around, act smartly. Analyze where the threats coming from and emphasize on those points first. Hackers are always on the lookout for valuable information so it’s best to have basic security measures like login authentication in place.
- Prepare for Cyber-attacks
The one way to prevent cyber-attacks from happening is to attack your system yourself, only by attacking it can you realize the security loopholes and weaknesses.
- Be vigilant with your employees
Employees are a main part of an organizational structure, they have access to sensitive information. The human side of this is to keep your employees motivated, well compensated and be open in communicating about data leaks. In addition to this, have a surveillance system in place, create activity log, track passwords etc.
- Conduct audits frequently
As an organization you need to minimize the risks of cyber-attacks as much as possible and security audits play a huge part in this. Hire skilled cybersecurity on a quarterly basis to perform an in-depth audit on your website/application that will help protect your data. You can even hire in-house security consultant to regularly perform test and work with IT teams to implement measure accordingly.
Many professionals having completed their cybersecurity training online are available to hire in the job market.