The future of cybersecurity

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM); this year’s theme — “Do Your Part. #BeCybersmart.” — urges companies and individuals to play their role in protecting their cyberspace. It emphasizes personal accountability and the importance of embracing proactive cybersecurity — “if you connect it, protect it.”

Cybercrimes are continuously evolving by leveraging newer technologies and tactics. And thanks to widespread digitization and interconnectivity, more businesses are vulnerable to cyberattacks than ever before.

What does taking responsibility for your cybersecurity mean? Well, you first have to understand the current cybersecurity landscape and make an educated guess of its future before devising proactive solutions. Cybersecurity awareness is all about anticipating known threats and putting in place the appropriate countermeasures.

The latest cybersecurity threats to watch out for

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a playground for cybercriminals. Since the outbreak, scams related to phishing, fake news, and financial fraud have skyrocketed and have no signs of slowing down yet. For instance, Barclays announced that financial scams went up 66 percent in just the first half of 2020.

Besides pandemic-related scams, here are five new ways that hackers are targeting private and corporate information:

Deepfake

The term deepfake first appeared on Reddit in 2017. It means altered media, usually with superimposed faces and voices. Face and audio swapping technology is still rudimentary, but it’s getting better, making it harder to distinguish real and fake media. Hackers often use deepfakes to spread misinformation or perpetrate elaborate impersonation attacks.

AI-enhanced attacks

AI and machine learning have greatly advanced in solving complex problems. Unfortunately, hackers have also realized AI’s power in developing sophisticated adaptive malware that sneaks past detection systems. Adaptive malware may be intended to disable cybersecurity defenses or sit undetected in databases while collecting valuable information.

ML poisoning

Machine learning poisoning is a complex process that involves injecting malicious instructions into an active ML system to corrupt its algorithms or training sets. Cybercriminals can introduce undetectable backdoors or malware in machine learning software through poisoning, thereby compromising the entire system.

AI fuzzing

AI fuzzing tools use smart techniques to detect exploitable vulnerabilities. They are essential for testing and modeling cybersecurity solutions, but hackers may also use similar methods to automate cyberattacks.

Cloud attacks

Cloud vulnerability is one of the biggest cybersecurity challenges today. Many organizations rely upon cloud-based software, tools, and data centers to store and manipulate sensitive data. Simple misconfigurations or security oversights could leave a cloud infrastructure susceptible to malware attacks, cryptojacking, and smart contract hacking.

Tips to protect your business from cyberattacks

  • Spread cybersecurity awareness in your organization through training and seminars.
  • Implement strict, zero-trust security protocols — strong password policies, multi-factor authentication, data points access control, and restricted privileges.
  • Invest in robust, up-to-date cybersecurity solutions, including anti-malware, data encryption tools, firewalls, and threat detection systems.
  • Set up a reliable data backup and recovery system.
  • Stay on the lookout for suspicious activities, such as abnormal network traffic, server overload, and database requests.
  • Partner with a co-managed IT provider to gain additional expertise, tools, and insights to protect your digital assets.
  • Assess, audit, and revise your cybersecurity strategy regularly to resolve new vulnerabilities and fend off emerging threats.

What the future holds

The threat surface expands every day — malicious actors will continue to find new and more effective ways to access secured information. But we can make accurate predictions based on past and current trends about the future of cybersecurity.

In the near future, the playing field will mostly consist of automated attacks and intelligent countermeasures. Hackers and cybersecurity solutions are tending toward AI and ML. In fact, ML poisoning and AI-based attacks are on track to become the next big digital threats. Cybersecurity will soon become a battle of bots, creativity, and computing prowess.

Speaking of computing power, quantum computing may threaten digital security as we know it. Quantum-based asymmetric algorithms could render the current symmetric encryption systems obsolete. However, quantum computers are only in the experimental stage — it will be decades before we have to worry about redefining digital security.

Start by protecting your business

Additionally, if you work with KME, a professional managed IT partner, we can help your team improve your security posture and eliminate uncertainties. Focus on cybersecurity awareness to fully understand risks and take preemptive measures. 

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