Cybercrime has grown to be a multi-trillion dollar industry and it shows no signs of slowing down. In the last few years, there have been some emerging trends in cyberattacks and these make up the majority of the risk for businesses and everyday consumers. In this article, we will discuss some of the new frontiers in cybercrime and the impact that they have had on the industry.
Ransomware
Ransomware is the fastest-growing type of cyberattack in the world, it is extremely profitable costing $20 billion in 2021 which is more than 57 times what it was in 2015. In 2019 the average remediation cost for a ransomware attack 2019 was $761,000 and in 2020 it had doubled to over $1.85 million. Since most businesses require access to their online systems to function, most likely companies will continue to pay these ransoms, which will encourage hackers to continue using this type of attack.
Cloud Computing
In 2021 over 90% of companies use cloud computing in their environment and this brings a unique set of challenges for cybersecurity. Companies need to understand how to protect a cloud environment and integrate their on-premise resources with their cloud hosting environment in a secure way.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is quickly becoming more mature and used in many online services, including Cybersecurity products. Solutions providers are constantly looking for ways to use AI to improve the detection and remediation of cyber threats on corporate networks. Some of the common places it is being used are products like firewalls, IDS, anti-fraud, and antivirus solutions.
Phishing
Social engineering as an overall strategy continues to be one of the most effective types of cyberattacks, used in over 22% of data breaches according to Verizon. Phishing takes advantage of the human element of a company to gain access to the company or spread malware and continues to be a very effective initial access technique.
Mobile Malware
With the increased use of mobile devices, mobile malware has become a good way for hackers to steal information and make money. With the increased use of mobile devices and the use of mobile applications, hackers can attack people using phishing emails, text messages, scam calls, or malware-laced web applications to get access to people’s mobile devices. One study found that as many as 82% of web applications have security vulnerabilities in them and 9 out of 10 times, hackers can attack site visitors because of these vulnerabilities.
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