The cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing, and this comes with good and bad. While new technology is always being developed, the cybercrime industry is also estimated to cost the world over $10 trillion annually by 2025. Understanding modern trends goes a long way to protecting your business and maintaining data safety.
We’ve created a guide with some of the most notable you should keep in mind. Let’s explore the key information you should know.
Higher Number of Remote Workers
Remote work is here to stay. Employees don’t want to go back to daily commutes, and many business owners are happy with downsizing their facilities.
However, this comes with increased cybersecurity risk. Human error is one of the largest contributing factors to compromised data.
It often takes only a single incident to provide hackers with access to sensitive information. Cybercriminals understand this, and they often prioritize remote workers.
One of the most common ways they do so is through phishing attacks. These leverage social engineering to get the victim to take the hacker’s desired action.
A common scenario could involve an employee of a financial institution receiving an email from the company’s CEO. The email indicates that a recent system update has made it impossible for the CEO to access important information. They then ask for certain credentials.
The issue in circumstances like these is that there’s often no indicator that these messages are spoofed. Hackers can send emails that appear to be from legitimate sources and format them in ways identical to how the company would.
Therefore, it’s imperative to train remote workers at your organization on common cyber threats. This will minimize the chances you have to deal with a data breach.
IoT Vulnerability
Countless household products have access to the internet these days.
Devices like fitness watches, smart refrigerators, and Google Home are areas of concern. By the end of 2025, it’s estimated there will be approximately 3.7 billion IoT mobile connections. This is a double-edged sword, as the increased convenience IoT provides also gives hackers ample opportunity to procure sensitive data.
Companies will need to be wary of the devices they keep at their facilities. This has also created a gray area regarding whether remote workers should use IoT devices during work hours.
As time goes on, companies will likely develop policies that clearly outline IoT device use.
Machine Learning (ML)
The good news is that there are many cybersecurity developments to combat rising threats. Machine learning is one of the most notable.
For those unfamiliar with this process, it quickly develops patterns from data sets and converts them to algorithms. This allows them to anticipate certain behavior. By extension, it also helps predict how cybercriminals might attempt to procure data.
For instance, a company could use a machine learning algorithm after experiencing a data breach. This could allow them to determine the warning signs a breach was going to occur. They can use this information to detect suspicious behavior in the future and minimize the threat of additional attacks.
Multi-Factor Authentication
This term refers to requiring multiple forms of identification before providing access to data. For example, you might need to use a password, email, and employee ID number before logging into a certain account.
This is becoming more important as time goes on, as hackers are developing better ways to compromise user data. The more types of identification you require, the harder it will be for hackers to gain access to certain information.
Many businesses are also incorporating zero-trust policies. As the name implies, this refers to situations where the system doesn’t trust the user regardless of how many times they’ve logged in before. Whether it’s your first or tenth time accessing certain data, you’ll need to fully identify yourself.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration
AI has seen an enormous rise in popularity over recent years. This is true in virtually every industry.
However, this is particularly true regarding cybersecurity. Firewalls, anti-malware engines, and antivirus software no longer have sufficient protection capabilities. They now need to use AI to overcome the methods modern hackers use.
AI-powered tools work with enormous amounts of data and short periods. This process is very similar to machine learning, but it’s not identical. Using a combination of the two will provide the most robust defense.
Malware Prevention
The best way to prevent malware is to focus on secure storage and establish business continuity plans. Data protection techniques like encryption are also crucial to consider. Since criminals have become so proficient at breaching defenses, it’s only a matter of time before your business experiences an attempted cyberattack.
This isn’t a death sentence for your data, though. Malware prevention strategies will safeguard your company’s information and help minimize downtime if a breach occurs.
Cyber Espionage
This won’t apply to most small businesses, but it’s highly relevant to companies in the defense or tech industries. Cyberespionage involves the use of electronic devices to steal sensitive or classified information.
These attacks are conducted by actors in other countries and can be notably difficult to discern. This is one of the reasons why many people are uneasy about the growing use of IoT devices.
The presence of more endpoints means that attacks are much more difficult to manage and prevent. In some cases, it could lead to businesses minimizing the endpoints they allow access to.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks
DDoS attacks have seen a resurgence in popularity.
These aim to overload systems and disrupt regular traffic to a targeted server. The result is a website becoming entirely inaccessible. For businesses, this can have enormous consequences.
Imagine if your audience couldn’t make purchases on your site or access it at all. Not everyone will sit around and wait for it to come back online.
They might visit a competitor instead. DDoS attacks are becoming more sophisticated, making them more difficult to stop.
Some of the most common are routing attacks, protocol attacks, and volume-based attacks.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a major threat that business owners can’t overlook. This is because it specifically targets businesses.
In context, a user might log in one day to find that all of their data is encrypted. A message appears on the screen that demands a Bitcoin payment within 12 hours or all of the data will be deleted. The FBI recommends against paying the ransom in situations like these.
There’s no guarantee the hacker will provide access to your information. The money you pay them will also fund future attacks.
In general, it’s best to ignore the threat and restore your information from a previous backup. However, there are scenarios where ransomware can cause major issues. Some hackers take things a step further and threaten to release your sensitive information to the public or even sell it to a competitor.
While backing up your information could provide access to your data, the other component of their threat could still occur.
Firewall as a Service (FWaaS)
There are now firms that offer firewalls as a service to businesses.
This is essentially full-time monitoring of your company’s network to ensure that threats are dealt with before they evolve into something greater. Since you’ll work with a managed service provider, you won’t compromise your infrastructure’s computational power.
This is great for small businesses that don’t have a solid IT foundation.
Cloud Storage Security
Cloud storage has been fairly popular over the past decade, but it’s becoming more relevant.
Businesses are minimizing the amount of hardware they keep at their facilities. It’s simply more convenient to have access to service-based data.
This allows you to maintain consistency across multiple devices. However, this comes with additional risk. Top Cloud threats include poor app security and a lack of monitoring.
Cloud servers operate on an enormous scale, which can significantly reduce visibility. Cumbersome or incomplete data deletion processes can also cause issues.
Businesses are becoming more vigilant with the cloud service provider they choose. Even a single data breach could be virtually impossible to recover from.
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
This is a relatively new term that refers to the integration of numerous Cloud security measures. For instance, SASE could leverage FWaaS and zero trust in a single service.
It aims to consolidate different layers of security without sacrificing quality. As time goes on, we can expect to see more businesses offer SASE.
This is a comprehensive type of security, though. Not every business will need access to it.
Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
This is a threat detection and incident response tool. It integrates multiple security products, making it similar to SASE.
It aims to identify issues as quickly as possible and take immediate action. A major XDR trend is an emphasis on shortened response times. The end goal is to make responses instantaneous.
While we’re still a bit away from this scenario, it could be a reality one day. These tools also collect threat information and store it in a database.
It’s then analyzed to help recognize and manage future threats.
Third-Party Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM)
A major concern many companies have is the third parties they deal with. Working with risky vendors could have adverse consequences.
For instance, what are your company’s vendors that could fail to adhere to compliance regulations? This inadvertently puts them at risk of cyberattacks.
The hacker that breaches their systems could then gain access to your information. Even though your business itself was sufficiently protected, it could still suffer.
Properly assessing risk will help minimize situations like these. It can also help you find reliable partners that keep your data safe as they should.
Finding a Service Provider
It’s essential to find the right service provider to help you manage the aforementioned cybersecurity trends. They have the tools and resources to ensure you get started on the right track.
Let’s explore the key attributes to look for when making your decision.
Experience
How experienced are they in working with companies like yours?
It’s best to hire someone who’s been around for decades in the industry. While this isn’t to say that inexperienced firms can’t provide great results, they won’t be as likely to.
Providers with more experience will understand how to overcome unique issues and handle certain nuances that other companies wouldn’t. They’re also more likely to maintain professionalism during your relationship with them.
Reputation
What do other people have to say about working with the provider?
There should be no shortage of satisfied clients who offer positive feedback. A quick Google search can likely tell you everything you need to know.
However, it’s important to keep an eye out for fake reviews. These are typically posted in batches and have highly similar formatting.
With enough due diligence, you’ll find the ideal option for your situation.
Tools and Resources
Only work with providers that use contemporary tools and resources. This ensures you get the best results and avoid problems you would have otherwise encountered.
It’s important to note that they should also be proficient in using these tools and resources. Having access to high-quality software won’t mean much if they can’t make the most of it. Keep an eye out for companies that seem to deflect questions about this topic.
This could indicate they won’t meet your expectations.
Communicativeness
few things are more frustrating than being left in the dark after you hire a managed service provider. Ask them how they plan to stay in contact with you.
It’s also important to inquire when you can expect to hear from them. To clarify, some firms offer weekly updates. Others prefer monthly Zoom calls.
Regardless of how they communicate with you, ensure it fits your needs.
Don’t Overlook These Cybersecurity Trends
Understanding the cybersecurity trends in this guide will help you protect yourself from potential threats. They can also help you leverage new technology to make your business more efficient.
Our team at Empist has nearly two decades of multifaceted technology experience. We offer a comprehensive range of IT solutions, including cloud services and application development. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can take your business to the next level.