The present day’s cybercriminals are armed and capable enough to carry out deadly cyber attacks on consumers, businesses and governments successfully. Their continuous stabbing has evolved these illegal activities into a huge business. Personal information of consumers has been stolen on a humongous scale. We have seen in 2015 that how vulnerable users’ information is, hackers can easily get their hands on it. Above that, the inability to detect and recover from a data breach incident is absolutely shivering, such as Ashley Madison. There no protecting shield that businesses and individuals can wear to stay safe against these e-threats, but, taking precautionary measures and preparing themselves for the worst case scenario can help their cause.
At the end of this nightmarish year with respect to data security, Symantec’s security intelligence team has put forward some of the security predictions for the upcoming year. Here are some of them.
Need of encryption to boost
The technology industry is working on a simple principle, encrypt everything! With such redundant communication among people, organizations and governments over the defenseless means of communication, like the internet, encryption seems to be a must thing. Not all devices and application can encrypt your sent and received messages, which can surely lead the recipients to trouble. Cybercriminals tend to target smart devices that have negligible data security measures. Similarly, hackers seem to target individual users, hack into their computer and steal their personal information. Encrypting data on computer using Folder Lock will surely help users to keep their personal and precious information safe and secure.
Security on Internet of Things will be even more essential
As the world is introduced with new gadgets and people are switching to smart wearable devices, security on them will need to be improved in the next year. Smartwatces, holographic headsets and other smart devices will impose higher risks on users’ privacy. According to a report, it expected that around 30 billion IoT will be connected across the globe with industries and these devices will touch every field across different enterprises. Everything is slapped with internet, but their security is fragile. Cheap and small manufacturers in the industry are unable to provide any sort of security to their users, whereas, giants like Apple are doing a decent job to keep their users’ privacy intact. According to Symantec, the world may see the security of medical care devices, such as pacemaker or insulin pumps as highly discussed topic. There is fair chance that hackers may target such devices and get them under their control. It sounds awfully scary!
Cybercriminals likely to be able to compromise Apple’s devices
Apple has a reputation of providing the most stable and secure operating systems as well as hardware. Apple has a 13.5% share in smartphone market and around 7.5% of share in computers’ market. The share of Apple is increasing and hackers are very well aware of this fact. Consequently, they are engineering malware specifically to infect Apple’s devices. The ratio of data breach incidents on Apple devices is far lesser as compared to its competitors, Windows (PC) and Android (smartphone). But, the last eighteen months have been quite miserable for the company, there have been a number of cases that has somewhat deteriorated that the Apple is a safe heaven. According to the experts, the trend is likely to be continued in the upcoming year and people need to get rid of the percent that Apple is free from malware, otherwise, they might have to suffer big time. There are some big loopholes unearthed in Apple’s OS and they are trying to discover some more hidden flaws in iOS 9.1.
Risks of damaging attacks on critical infrastructure to be increase
We have witnessed some brutal attacks on infrastructure in this year; these attacks were focused on government websites, political websites and similar others. Symantec believes that these attacks will continue in 2016 as well and the world may see an increase in the intensity of these attacks. Political organizations operating cyber warfare campaigns and criminals attacking for profit or ransom. The use of IoT is increasing due to the constant demand of connectivity, but, at the same time, it imposes huge risks to your information security. The new trend of ‘hacktivity’ will haunt governments through the internet.
Need of cyber insurance is likely to increase
Organizations are opting for cyber insurance given the obligation that companies need to respond against data breach incidents. Another reason for adopting cyber insurance is the threat of cybercriminals and their ability to steal precious information. They steal information for the purpose of payment fraud, identity theft and other crimes. These cyber attacks not only hurt financially but also stain organizations’ goodwill. A cyber insurance help companies to limit their risk, it helps organizations to protect their brand, reputation and operations if they encounter a data breach. Keep the immense and scary risk of data breach, companies would head more and more towards cyber insurance to avoid big financial and other losses.
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What Are The Security Trends?
1. Cloud Computing: Cloud computing is becoming increasingly popular as organizations look to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Security measures such as encryption, authentication, and access control are being implemented to protect data stored in the cloud.
2. Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence is being used to identify malicious activity and detect security threats. AI-driven security solutions are being developed to improve detection and response times.
3. Identity and Access Management: Identity and access management (IAM) is becoming most popular security threat.
Trends In Ransomware
1. Increasing Sophistication: Ransomware is becoming more sophisticated and difficult to detect. Cybercriminals are using more sophisticated techniques such as polymorphism, encryption, and obfuscation to hide their malicious activities.
2. Targeting Businesses: Businesses are increasingly becoming the target of ransomware attacks. Cybercriminals are using ransomware to target businesses in order to gain access to sensitive data.
3. Growing Use of Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency is becoming an increasingly popular payment.
Major Threats In Data Security
1. Malware: Malware is malicious software designed to damage or gain access to a computer system without the user’s knowledge or permission. Malware can be used to steal data, delete files, and disrupt system operations.
2. Phishing: Phishing is a form of social engineering where attackers use emails, text messages, or malicious websites to lure unsuspecting victims into disclosing confidential information.
3. Social Engineering: Social engineering is a type of attack that relies on psychological manipulation.
Future Of Data Security
The future of data security is likely to be focused on developing sophisticated technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and quantum computing to protect data from malicious actors. Additionally, organizations will need to focus on increasing their security awareness and education, as well as investing in the latest security tools and technologies to ensure their data is secure. Finally, data security will need to be a priority for all organizations, as the cost of a data breach can be devastating.
Trend Analysis In Security
Trend analysis in security is the process of monitoring and analyzing security-related data over time in order to detect patterns and identify areas of risk. Through trend analysis, organizations can identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities, as well as track changes in security posture. This data can then be used to inform security policies and procedures, as well as develop proactive strategies for mitigating risks and improving security posture.
Trends In Data Breaches
Data breaches have become increasingly common in recent years, with organizations of all sizes and in all industries facing the risk of a data breach. Common trends in data breaches include an increase in the number of breaches, a rise in the sophistication of attacks, and an increase in the volume of data stolen. Additionally, attackers are increasingly targeting cloud-based systems, mobile devices, and other connected devices.
Latest Trends In Today’S World Of Cyber Security
The latest trends in cyber security include the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to detect and prevent cyber-attacks, increased use of cloud-based security solutions, and the continued development of encryption technologies. Additionally, organizations are increasingly relying on user authentication and two-factor authentication to protect their networks and data. With the increasing sophistication of cyber-attacks, organizations must take steps to ensure their networks and data remain secure.
Top Targets Of Ransomware
The top targets of ransomware are:
1. Healthcare organizations
2. Educational institutions
3. Financial institutions
4. Government agencies