With an increase in people working from home and online entertainment being the most commonly enjoyed by the public, there has been a significant increase in cyber attacks. In order to stay ahead of these would-be criminals and pieces of malware or viruses, cybersecurity moves at speed.
Every year it gets more sophisticated, and of course, each industry benefits from it in different ways. So what are the top cybersecurity trends for the next year? And how do they impact the users and the businesses?
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What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is where controls, processes and protocols, and technology protect devices, data, programs, and networks from attacks.
The attacks could be unauthorized access, malware, or brute force attacks. With cyber security measures in place, there is a reduced likelihood of the exploitation of tech, devices, networks, and systems.
Is cybersecurity important?
The short answer is yes, cybersecurity is important. And it serves many purposes – although its main one is, of course, the defense against theft or damage of data, devices, or networks.
Cybersecurity attacks and breaches are on the increase, and one of the main victims of that has been small to medium businesses. Often it is smaller businesses that need to put the correct measures in place, and they have several vulnerabilities in their systems, how they interact with platforms and apps – and under trained staff.
As the years go by, the methods that cyber attackers use are becoming more sophisticated, and it calls for all industries to look at how and where they can make improvements.
What are some of the biggest cybersecurity threats?
To understand more about why cybersecurity is important for both consumers and businesses, learning about some of the most common threats is essential. While there are some that are industry specific, here are some that are becoming increasingly reported.
Ransomware
Ransomware is software that gets into a system and stops users from having access to the system. Whatever information or data there is will be held for ransom, and payment might be requested to regain access.
The data is encrypted by the criminal, and the security key will be on their system too. The SanFran 49ers were held to ransom in 2022, releasing a statement they said that the attack was only on its corporate network; however, notification of data breaches went out to all affected customers too.
DdoS
A Distributed Denial of Service is a horrible attack that overwhelms a system with excess traffic to render it unavailable. The website that is targeted will slow to a halt. Often DDoS attacks aren’t the main crime; instead, they are used as a diversion.
Cybercriminals use huge networks of infected computers to attack a single company. GitHub was famously attacked in 2018; however, they had a DDoS protection service in place, and the alert triggered within ten minutes – meaning that GitHub managed to get away relatively unscathed.
Spam and Phishing
Spam and Phishing cyber attacks are particularly harmful to the elderly and other vulnerable groups who may not keep up with trending scams. However, anyone can fall for a phishing email. They look more legitimate than ever.
Phishing emails look like they are from a business or person you most likely deal with and will typically ask you to log into something using the link they have sent. Once you do that, your details are stolen, and your account is hijacked. A famous phishing scam was Sony Pictures in 2014, where top exes had received emails that looked like they were from Apple. The attackers caused about $100 million in damages.
Which industries have the best cybersecurity?
Each industry faces its own challenges when it comes to cyber security, and there are a couple that use specific solutions to their problems.
Online entertainment
Online entertainment portals are huge, and with millions of customers, they have a lot of exposure. Casino sites are one of the biggest gaming niches that accept online payments and payouts, meaning they require players personal and sensitive data. The most trusted casino websites will have a robust set of measures in place at payment portals to avoid any cyber hacks.
Disney+ was a victim of a hack that started to sell its customer’s credentials online. Incident response plans, hypervigilance with third parties, prioritization of assets, and increased staff training.
Retail and Wholesale
When it comes to retail and wholesale, there are several points where cybercriminals could attack. Points of sale, supply chain, and phishing emails. Using compliance models, highlighting security weaknesses, risk assessment, and high-end protection at the PoS, it is possible to minimize the risks to the customer and the business.
Financial services
Financial services have a high volume of sensitive and personal information that, if accessed, puts customers at risk both in terms of financial theft and ID theft – and the institutions in question will be liable for fines and charges for the attack. Securing digital assets, staff training, a cyber strategy, and blocks for advanced threats are a must.
The act of cybersecurity and, ultimately, its success lies in looking at what others in the industry are doing, improving upon it, and always going for the most robust option, always with the customer in mind.