The internet has brought a (mostly) positive change in our lives today, but there is a flip side to everything good. Protecting your data is a huge challenge. Cyber threat actors have taken advantage of these changes, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. They targeted their attacks toward vulnerabilities in remote access, cloud computing, and other solutions adopted as part of the new security reality. In this blog, you will find the cyber security trends of 2023 explained, and it will tell you what to look out for in the new year.
Phishing
Phishing remains the biggest threat to individuals and companies. It is where a hacker sends a seemingly legitimate looking email, asking users to disclose personal information. The type of data that are compromised in a phishing attack are credentials, personal data and medical data such as treatment information or insurance claims.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a term that covers any virus or malware (malicious software) that holds your computer hostage. There are different methods of a ransomware attack, but the binding connection between all the different types is that they lock you out of your PC.
Trojan malware
Trojan malware is a malware-like ransomware. A malware attack is a common cyberattack designed to cause damage to a computer or network. With a Trojan attack, the malware downloads onto a computer disguised as a legitimate program. It is often used to let other types of malware into the systems. It is typically an attachment in a free to download file or an attachment.
Password attack
There are different types of password attacks. Examples are dictionary attacks, brute force attacks, and keylogger attacks. A password attack is a form of attack wherein a hacker cracks a password with various programs and password cracking tools.
Because we connect more devices together and network, there are more opportunities for attackers. In 2023, analysts at Gartner predict there will be 43 billion Internet of Things-connected devices in the world. IoT devices like cars, smart watches or home appliances have, because they are often not used to store sensitive data directly, been a window for attackers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) also plays an increasingly prominent role. Because the number of attempted cyber attacks has grown rapidly, it has become more difficult for cyber security experts to react to them all and predict where they are going to attack. This is where AI comes to play. Artificial Intelligence can examine data moving across networks far more effectively than humans ever could and recognize those patterns.
Unfortunately, hackers also have learned to use AI more proficiently. They can use it to create large number of phishing emails, and to avoid automated email defense systems that are designed to filter out this type of mail. It is a race between security specialists and hackers to ensure they have the newest and best algorithms so that the opposition won’t have it.
According to a report by Acumen Research and Consulting, it has been predicted that by 2030 the market for AI related cybersecurity products will be worth close to $139 billion. That is a tenfold increase of the value of the 2021 market.
With the increasing number of cyber attacks today, it’s good to be aware of cyber attacks and how one can protect their network. Here are a couple tips on how to prevent a cyber attack:
People often do not fully update their software and systems, leaving weaknesses. Cybercriminals exploit these weaknesses to gain access to your network. Once they are in, it is often too late to do something about it.
One of the safest things you can do to prevent a cyber attack, is to secure your wifi. You can use a VPN like NordVPN or Surfshark to secure your connection
In case anything happens, you must have your data backed up to avoid loss of data and serious financial loss.
The best thing we can do is to be more aware of the cyber security threats that we face. You don’t have to know all the technical skills for this, but the basic security skills like the safe use of passwords and the two-factor authentication. We need to take more responsibility so that we can build a more security-aware culture.