With the implementation of new IT solutions and technologies, we are more exposed to cybersecurity risks and breaches than ever before. As technologies are advancing, so is cybercrime, meaning more sophisticated, subtle, and stronger cyberattacks.
Cyber attackers are constantly evolving to develop solutions that can bypass advanced security. So much so that ethical hackers detected more than 65,000 vulnerabilities only in 2022.
The newest cybersecurity technologies are here to protect businesses from the massive cost of cyberattacks. For this reason, businesses are now opting for third-party security solutions including binary analysis tools to better detect security threats during software development phases.
With the rise in cyberattacks, the challenges of cybersecurity are rapidly increasing. Therefore, businesses should stay ahead of the game and proactively take measures to prevent such attacks. Let’s devolve into the possible cybersecurity challenges we will be facing in 2023.
- Ransomware Extortion:
Ransomware extortion is extorting payments through data encryption. Hackers often encrypt accounts and deny access to legitimate users, and then they demand a ransom for users to recover their data. We have seen high growth in ransomware threats over the past decade.
However, it gives a chance to businesses at more focused security research to identify and fix cybersecurity threats. Moreover, the implementation of the latest AI technologies like ChatGPT is going to transform cybersecurity. Additionally, during a ransomware attack, you can save some data by terminating the malware to prevent data encryption. Businesses can now also restore data from backups instead of paying for the ransom.
- Third-Party Cloud Threats:
Cloud environments are often more vulnerable to attack than on-premises systems. With the increased dependence on cloud computing, businesses are more exposed to cybersecurity threats due to unfamiliarity and rapid changes with cloud-shared security models, cloud security practices, and other external factors.
Even though cyberattacks are increasingly attacking the cloud infrastructure, a more worrying approach is attacking the third-party cloud service providers. This not only provides access to customers’ sensitive data but also exploits the trust relationship between the organization and its service provider.
- Mobile Malware:
Mobile malware is becoming a growing threat as people are widely using mobile devices to make payments, purchase products, and share information.
Mobile malware is usually hidden in more legitimate applications like games, and flashlights. Such applications are easily available on official and unofficial app stores. Initially, mobile malware attacks were embedded in fake apps but now hackers use cracked and custom versions of legitimate applications.
- Wipers and Destructive Malware:
While we commonly experience ransomware and data breach threats, wiper malware poses a bigger data security threat with a greater impact on business. Unlike breaching the data or demanding ransom, wipers simply delete the data.
In the past we have seen rare attacks from wipers however, a resurgence was experienced in 2022 making it a substantial threat in 2023 as well. As a part of the Ukraine and Russia conflict, many wipers have been trained and deployed against Ukraine. Similarly, countries like Iran were targeted by such damaging cyber-attacks.
- The Weaponization of Legitimate Tools:
There is a fine line between system administration tools, legitimate penetration testing, and malware. Due to this, the functionality that cyber attackers build into their malware is often built into the victim’s operating systems or may be available through a legitimate tool. This makes the security breach recognition process extremely difficult.
Cyber-attacks have been taking advantage of these legitimate tools to avoid recognition and make successful attacks on their targets. By using the built-in features, they lower the chances of detection and improve the probability of a successful cyberattack. Besides this, they can use existing solutions to scale the attacks.
- Zero-Day Vulnerabilities in Supply Chains:
A vulnerability is exhibited as zero-day when it is detected but you don’t have any fix available for it. They pose a significant risk to corporate cybersecurity. Usually, cybercriminals take advantage of the window between the initial attack or vulnerability being detected and the vendor releasing a fix for it; cybercriminals use this time to exploit the data.
Moreover, when a patch is available for the attack, it is not instantly implemented by the business. For this reason, some attackers target vulnerabilities that were known and fixed for a long time. The implementation delays are associated with a lack of resource availability, prioritization, or other security concerns.
Even though cyber-attacks are on the rise, so are the protocols that can be implemented to mitigate these risks. It’s important to understand that moving forward, the only way our digital economy can function is if businesses start implementing top-of-the-line practices when it comes to cybersecurity.
