The digitization and blending of business and customer worlds are resulting in more virtual attack surfaces in need of constant defense. Hackers, scammers, blackmail artists, and threat actors of all kinds are finding new opportunities to access, alter, and appropriate sensitive data. And the avenues of attack are expanding all the time.
To protect their assets and their customers, organizations must continue to guard against traditional threats and must realign their cybersecurity strategies to account for these new and growing challenges.
In the past, the bad actors behind ransomware, phishing attacks, and other forms of malware tended to cast a wide net with the hope of snaring a few possible targets from among many thousands. But as cyberattacks evolve, they are becoming much more personalized to individuals.
The weaponization of extracted data and social-media information will give attackers the ability to apply mounting pressure on victims. Ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure will likewise increase. Organizations that fall prey to data theft may find themselves facing extortion over threats to leak sensitive data, publicize breaches, attack vendors and supply chains, and target vulnerable customers.
Remote work has also blurred the line between home and office, creating many more potentially unprotected access points to company networks. Advances in IoT and 5G technologies offer new avenues of attack. And vital data contained in vulnerable cloud systems create additional opportunities for cybercriminals.
Furthermore, it is increasingly difficult to find and hire cybersecurity talent, a problem that besets IT leaders around the world. Cybersecurity hires take time to train and must become intimately familiar with not only their own organization and its vulnerabilities, but also with the evolving threat landscape. Understaffed teams often struggle to address the multitude of attacks and threats leading to direct and measurable damage. If these talent shortages aren’t addressed, it will open companies up to expanded and more numerous cyberattacks and data breaches in the future.