The 2023 cybersecurity landscape is looking challenging. The economies barely recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, only to be hit by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, creating even more global tensions.
You might be required to restructure your business expenses if you were affected. However, you should not consider cutting down on cybersecurity, as the global number of cyberattacks topped at 1168 attacks per week against organizations.
Instead, you should reevaluate your cybersecurity strategy to prepare for the worst. Continue reading to learn about four cybersecurity threats that will likely happen in 2023.
1. Malware
Security Boulevard statistics show more than three hundred thousand new daily malware samples are detected. Of course, most of these are low-level programs without a huge risk. On the other hand, if highly sophisticated malware were to be released, it could penetrate even the toughest protection systems.
Here's what malware can do upon infecting your device:
- Record keystrokes to extract valuable information, like passwords;
- Delete or encrypt files;
- Spread throughout the whole corporate network;
- Infect web browsers;
- Collect confidential data;
- Spread spam.
Malware is often spread via email phishing, which we'll discuss shortly. A reliable antivirus and a solid firewall are essential cybersecurity software that neutralizes threats. An antivirus will scan your network and storage units to identify malware programs. A firewall will inspect incoming traffic to prevent malicious elements from reaching your devices.
Lastly, you should consider dividing your corporate network into segments with different access privileges. It will prevent malware from spreading uncontrollably across the whole structure.
2. Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware spreading like wildfire, bringing down individual companies and governmental institutions alike. Moreover, one of the most renowned ransomware cases, called WannaCry, infected more than 300,000 individual devices worldwide, with total possible damages of up to one billion.
Upon system infection, ransomware starts encrypting storage devices, denying access to data. It attempts to spread across the whole network infecting as many devices as possible. Once done, it displays a message asking for ransom, usually in cryptocurrency.
Encrypted files cannot be accessed and used in any way, halting online operations. You can imagine how damaging it was for the Colonial Pipeline ransomware hit in 2022 and Ireland's healthcare ransomware incident in 2021.
Alongside antivirus, you should implement data backup solutions that will restore your data in case it gets encrypted. There are several options, and using at least a few of them is best.
Most importantly, you should have one backup copy offline and disconnected from the company's network so that ransomware cannot reach it. You can also use a reliable cloud service provider to store another backup and keep all your business-related data under protection. You can access it anytime as long as you have an Internet connection.
Don't forget to never store data and its backup on the same server because it will be encrypted, rendering it useless.
3. Business Account Takeovers
With the SaaS model and cloud computing rising in popularity, employees are using many more business-related online accounts than ever before. Some of them store confidential business information, and exposing them online poses a significant risk.
It's nearly impossible to remember different and complex passwords by heart, but they are critical for business account security. Instead, we recommend using a professional business password manager.
This software was developed to protect multiple accounts with long, unique, and complex passwords. They will be stored in a secure encrypted vault and can be accessed only by the master password holder. Furthermore, system administrators can use different functions to set up access privileges and monitor who accesses which accounts, neutralizing rogue employee risks.
4. Phishing
Phishing is among the most popular business-oriented cyber threats that exploit human error. Hackers use data gathered from data leaks, social networks, and publicly available websites to forge convincing yet fraudulent letters.
Most data breaches are caused by human error, so training your staff to identify phishing emails is crucial. They should learn to tell an infectious backlink and inspect the email for suspicious elements, such as spoofed email addresses, grammatical errors, false signatures, etc.
Lastly, they should never hasten into downloading email attachments because they may contain malware that can cause tremendous damage.
Conclusion
These four threats will most likely target many small-to-medium businesses that did not invest in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity systems are costly, but our discussed methods can be affordable and will protect against the most common threats.
Remember that hackers are always looking for the easiest targets, and if you implement at least some security, chances are high that they will look elsewhere.