Maintaining your data safe and secure on the internet is indeed a major cybersecurity challenge in recent times, as it approaches in different forms like malware attacks, ransomware, and phishing attacks on your products.
2021 Cybersecurity Landscape: Risks, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2021, cyber hazards persist in ranking among the global risks time and again. Though the current pandemic situation has enhanced technological adoption, it has been highly exposed to cyber vulnerabilities and unpreparedness, whereas at the same time aggravated the tech inequalities within the societies.
A few of the examples of cybersecurity attacks that hit in 2021 include – the Sierra Wireless attack in March, the Airplane Manufacturer Bombardier data breach in February, the Microsoft Exchange Mass Cyber Attack in March, Dominos breach in April, Air India servers hacked in May, among many others.
While looking ahead to this year, it is crucial to carry on with the rising cybersecurity as a strategic business issue that is hampering the organization badly. Listed here are the rising cybersecurity challenges that you can safeguard all your data and information against cyber threats.
8 Cybersecurity Challenges
1# Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware attacks have come up as a vital cybersecurity challenge in recent years. As per the research, more than 80% of companies or business firms are impacted by ransom cyberattacks and it has increased excessively in 2021. Ransomware attacks often can make your systems fall into massive attacks, taking away access to your important data till you pay a big amount. The excessive use of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies has made it simple for hackers to steal the data of organizations. This is a serious issue of stopping your system from ransomware attacks to protect your businesses from money coercion.
2# IoT Vulnerabilities
All kinds of organizations have been using IoT app development to assist in evaluating consumer and client behavior and helping them in various effective marketing processes. Unluckily, the massive popularity of IoT devices raises the risk of data breaches. As the usage of IoT has increased tremendously sans the consequent technology development to safeguard against cybercrime, this difficulty continues to increase.
3# Cloud Attacks
In recent years, cloud computing or cloud services have been hugely in demand in the market for both personal and professional requirements. Most people like to store their data and photos on cloud storage. Indeed, cloud service is useful for the storage of ample data. But this has led to the danger of hackers hacking the cloud platform and organizations ending up with huge losses and the collapse of the business. Therefore, as a small to mid to bigger organization, one should focus their attention on accurate cloud storage configuration, APIs, and end-user actions on the cloud devices to reinforce cloud computing fortifications in the future.
4# Phishing Threats
These days crooks are using phishing & spear threats to bring malware into businesses. Phishing attacks include stealing credit card numbers, user data, and login credentials. Therefore, a phishing attack is also a big challenge in cybersecurity as hackers can take hold of the user’s data information and utilize it for their profits. Before you even find out regarding this, they have exploited your data completely.
5# Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Attacks
Recently blockchain and cryptocurrency attacks are the major security threats that deal in a higher phase as compared to regular everyday users. Cryptocurrency is linked with high technological organizations, although it didn’t attain the advanced security phase. That is the reason why it’s hit by some cyberattacks like Sybil, DDOS, Eclipse, etc.
Those organizations who relate to this technology must be mindful of all the cybersecurity challenges and ensure no gap is left out for the attackers to take advantage of your organization’s data.
6# Software or Programming Vulnerabilities
Not everything is maintained securely in this digital world. How advanced the software is, they have few vulnerabilities to catch the eyes of cyber hackers to attack them. Many times, enterprises or individuals delay keeping their systems updated which is their biggest mistake. In reality, it has to be your priority to update your system.
Older versions or outdated software turns your system vulnerable to higher risks of catching cyber threats. Hence, one of the important challenges today is to protect outdated software from cyber-attacks.
7# Artificial Intelligence Attacks and Machine Learning
There is no doubt that artificial intelligence and machine learning bring about various benefits in distinct fields and are mostly exposed to cyber threats. At times, without your awareness, any outside hacker can attack your system by detecting the high-valuable target from a large dataset, or any individual can use such AI-ML technologies to cause threats in the businesses. In the absence of cybersecurity in your company, hackers can target it effortlessly and make it immensely tough to manage cybersecurity attacks.
8# Automation & Integration
The security team professionals have to work under huge pressure to finish the task in less time. Automation and integration are excellent ways to boost complete productivity. The companies that follow DevOps and CI/CD processes can reach out to use risk management at the requisite development speed and yet maintain quality.
How to Avoid Your Business from Cyber Attacks?
Enterprises mostly apply effective factors such as information technology and broadband to connect with new markets and boost production and efficacy. Nevertheless, to safeguard your business, data, and customers from rising cyber hazards, you require a profitable cybersecurity strategy.
A few of the best practices can be implemented to lessen vulnerability to a cyberattack.
- Completing a risk assessment: Organizations should carry out a comprehensive risk assessment that assesses vulnerabilities and sets up a blueprint for security and privacy policies. You are recommended to review your risk assessment properly on an annual basis and perform it when any important changes are executed in your systems.
- Working with experts: The best way to stay secure from cyber-attacks is to depend on the experts. Nevertheless, your organizations or businesses cannot afford the threat of executing cybersecurity inadequately.
- Securing email: Using a free version of email service might place your organization at big risk. Whereas, paid email services can safeguard users from malware, spam, and phishing threats because of their cybersecurity features such as warning and filtering labels. Therefore, it is recommended to train your employees to detect and solve these malevolent email attacks, averting them from communicating with such kinds of messages.
- Backup data: Hackers tend to pressure business organizations to pay a large amount of money to release their data. Hence, it’s important to back up your system data, right when you update them with new data.
- Authentication of your existing cybersecurity protection: If you don’t want your hackers to grab your data access, then you require changing your system passwords in between, and that too with strong characters. Also, update your anti-virus software yearly or twice a year, each time for securing your Wi-Fi networks.
Conclusion
As the trends of cybersecurity keep evolving, companies must undertake positive IT security access to support their business security activities as they have to be more flexible, collaborative, and accessible for security’s sake.
Sanghamitra Roychoudhary
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