Global Cyber-Security ventures stated that the annual cybercrime damage is estimated to be 6 trillion dollars. That is equivalent to the cost of 4,444 world-class cruise ships. Hence, organizations started to spend more on cyber-security rather than losing to cyber-attacks. Global Cyber-Security market has grown to 127 billion dollars in 2017 and is expected to reach 300 billion dollars by 2024. Below are some of the cyber-security risks and treacherous cyber-attacks that one needs to be aware of to have a safe 2020.
Data Breach
The volume of cloud data storage has significantly increased. The risk arises when organizations try to do offline backups. The cloud service provider might have offered strong security. But when it comes to offline, the organization’s network might not serve the same level of security. Also if the cloud service provider uses lenient or outdated cryptographic keys, there are more chances for Data Breach. To avoid this, organizations must be picky on cloud providers and reinforce the updated encryption system.
Single Factor Password
This type of authentication is trending due to its simplicity. You can just login many systems with one master password. But most of the times this simplicity leads to vulnerability. We eased the process for cyber-criminals by using a single master password to open a wide range of sensitive details.
IoT
A Gartner report states that around 20.4 billion IoT devices will exist by 2020. It is expected to overtake the human population. The architectural flaw in IoT devices makes it vulnerable. Some of the top IoT vulnerabilities are
- Using outdated software or hardware components – Software and hardware are consistently exposed to vulnerability. So the manufacturer updates the components for resilience. Using outdated software or hardware components on IoT devices, open the door of vulnerabilities into the system.
- Data Transfer and Storage – It is a huge risk to transfer data between devices that are connected with different networks with different security policies.
- Weak Passwords – Guessable and hardcoded passwords give easy hand to hack the entire system. Preferring security than ease of use will help to prevent this vulnerability.
Phishing
Phishing is a fraudulent attempt of fooling people to click a link which gives access to sensitive information. According to RiskIQ, organizations lose 17,000 dollars every minute to Phishing. This can be prevented by being extra careful in providing sensitive information over phone calls or avoid clicking links that pretend to get price money on something.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a famous cyber-attack by which data on a system is kidnapped for ransom. The usual method is, hackers, encrypt data on the entire system and ask for a ransom to release the key. This has been a major threat in 2018 and will continue to be in 2019 and 2020.
Form-Jacking
Form-Jacking is a method of taking over forms on websites by exploiting their security weaknesses. This can be done by inserting malicious JavaScript code into the vulnerable part of the website. Symantec says that around 4,800 websites are compromised every month by Form-Jacking. And over 3.7 million attacks were blocked on endpoints. If checkout pages on e-commerce sites are vulnerable, it is possible to steal customer’s financial and payment information. It can be prevented by running vulnerability scan and penetration testing.
Poor Patch Management
Software providers rollout security patches every time they find vulnerable holes in their software. But most people ignore it without understanding its importance. Let’s consider that you have decided to go boating. The boat has a small hole inside, but you never mind. Initially, the boat might sail smooth. But in the middle, water enters through the hole and draw the boat. So software flaws can lead to a number of zero-day attacks which might eventually take over the system.
Inspirisys Enterprise Security & Risk Services
With our state-of-the-art SOC service, we secure your organization from the above threatening cyber security risks and threats. Our preventive and progressive approach to cyber security will help you take the lead and gain your customers’ trust.
