It’s no secret that companies are facing a greater threat of cybersecurity incidents than they ever have. Cybercriminals have the same access to advanced technology as everyone else, and they have become increasingly sophisticated because of it. With this in mind, what does 2023 have in store for us? Let’s take a look at the most dangerous cyber threats of 2023 and what you can do about them.
Social Engineering/Phishing Attacks
According to the Cyber Security Hub Market Report 2022, 75% of respondents to a survey anticipated that social engineering and phishing attacks would be the number one threat to their organization in 2023. And there is a good reason for this—these kinds of attacks can affect your company no matter how tight your cybersecurity is. Why? Because it relies solely on human vulnerability and error.
All it takes is for one employee of a company to click on a link in a suspicious email or respond with sensitive information for a social engineering or phishing attack to be successful. Just one employee. And it is not possible to guarantee with 100% certainty that you can stop this from happening. Your best defense against this type of attack is to:
- Educate your employees on how to spot potentially suspicious emails and other communications and what to do if they think an email is suspicious
- Ensure you have a superior password policy and multifactor authentication in place so if a cybercriminal does get a hold of sensitive information, they will still be less likely to breach security
Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts critical files and data and demands a ransom for them to be unencrypted. Even novice hackers can buy Ransomware-as-a-Service software that comes ready-made to launch an attack. If you are not prepared for such an attack, you will not only face financial repercussions from payment of the ransom but also from lost productivity and loss of trust from your customers and business partners.
To protect yourself against ransomware attacks, it is vital that you back up all of your systems and data and have disaster recovery procedures and an incident response plan established. This will ensure that you can wipe and restore the affected system and experience minimal disruption to your organization.
Security of Remote Workers
COVID-19 may have made working remotely the norm for a while, and now that we’ve gone there, we will never fully go back. Many companies still support a remote or hybrid workforce, and with that comes additional security concerns, such as an increased need for endpoint protection for devices such as laptops and tablets that are connected to the network.
To combat this concern, you need strict remote working policies that direct employees on how to keep their hardware and software safe and security protocols that include multifactor authentication, VPNs, and endpoint security solutions.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Smart devices, those devices that are connected to the internet or the cloud, are highly vulnerable to attacks. This can include things such as hacking in and taking partial or full control over the device or installing malware on the device that will be uploaded to the company network, whether on-premises or in the cloud.
To best defend against cyber threats for smart devices, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-based learning can be used to automate cybersecurity monitoring. This will help you detect potential threats before they become a security breach.
Cloud Security
With more and more businesses moving to the cloud, cloud security has become a priority. Responsibility for cloud security lies with both you and your cloud provider. Your provider needs to be sure the cloud infrastructure is secure and that access is controlled and hosts and networks are properly configured and patched.
On your end, you will need to adequately manage the access privileges of users, ensure sufficient protection of cloud accounts, and encrypt your data. The best form of encryption is quantum-resistant encryption algorithms that protect against quantum computing threats.
Contact Platinum Technologies today to find out how we can help you protect against the most dangerous cyber threats of 2023.
