Norton Security estimates that by 2023 nearly 33 billion records per year will be stolen by cybercriminals. Given the increasing of cybersecurity attacks, organizations are now racing to invest in security tools that are more sensitive and more advance to protect them from any cyber threats. However, without knowing the types of cyber threats that organization will face, it will be difficult to determine the right security tools that they need. To help organization in deciding approaches to defeat cyber threats, here are the top cybersecurity trends in 2019 and what to expect in 2020.
Cybersecurity Trends in 2019
- Evolving phishing attacks
Phishing attack has been in the list of cyber threats for some times and is unlikely to go anywhere soon. Verizon’s 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) found that 78% of cyber-espionage incidents involve phishing. Even worse, phishing is now haunting mobile devices by sending mobile users fake SMS (smishing), fake phone calls with direct people (vishing), fake IRS phone calls, and even targeting social media platform like LinkedIn.
- Mobile device as a prime targetfor fraud attempts
As mobile devices make things much easier, everyone must be having at least one of mobile device types in their pocket. However, having a mobile device may pose some problems, now it becomes cyber threats’ main target. According to RSA‘s whitepaper, there are 55% of fraudulent transactions originate from cellular channels in 2018. Moreover, fraud from cellular applications has increased 680% since 2015, making mobile device as one of the cybercrime’s main targets.
- Ransomware attack shifts from consumer to business
The latest report of Malwarebytes found that ransomware targeting consumers has seen a sharp decline. The bad news is that this same report found that malware attacks against businesses have increased sharply during this same period. The detection increased 195% from Q4 2018 to Q1 2019. The most vulnerable business targets are those of small and medium size (SMBs).
- Increasing cyber security implementation fueled by GDPR
Since the launch of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in May 2018, countries and industries all over the world have begun to realize how crucial cyber security is to protect consumer and citizen sensitive data. This regulation requires government or companies to increase their cyber security implementation to ensure that people’s sensitive data is well protected from any malicious activities.
- The increasing investment in cybersecurity automation
The adoption of automation for cybersecurity functions is on the rise across the countries. The recent Ponemon report showed that based on answers from over 1,400 IT and IT security practitioners, the 79% of respondents saying they already use automation to strengthen their cybersecurity or are planning to in the next three years. The significant rise of automation tools for cybersecurity have directly given some certain benefits, including improved efficiency and productivity among security staff.
What to Expect in 2020
- AI and ML for Cybersecurity
As the world is going digital at an unprecedentedly fast pace, cyber-attack is one of the challenges that we would face at any time. Therefore, the need for cybersecurity has never been more critical than now. As cyber-attack keeps evolving and become more advance, so does cybersecurity’s tools and techniques. One of major game-changer in cybersecurity is the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Organization can use Machine Learning to analyze and classify malware. According to Capgemini’s report, AI in cybersecurity is becoming a key weapon to thwart cyber-attacks as it can be used in three major areas namely detection, prediction, and response cyber threats.
However, there are some drawbacks in using AI. The further advancement in AI is that it can create new types of cyber threats and hacks into a system’s vulnerability much faster and better than human. Regardless the potential disadvantages, according to Research and Markets report, the hype of AI in cyber security in the market is still high and it is projected to reach 38.2 billion by 2026.
- The increasing of cyber-attacks on utilities and public infrastructure
Cyber-attacks on critical utilities and infrastructure continue to increase as utility industries began digitizing and modernizing its infrastructure. While investment in digital infrastructure remains high, the investments in securing that infrastructure will lag behind. With the cybersecurity gaps, no wonder why more and more vulnerabilities have been discovered and are expected to increase as utility industries are not prepared to deal with major cyber security threats.
As 2019 going by so fast, you should always be updated to the cyber security trends. Through this article, Defender Nusa Semesta (DNS) as an IT security expert wants you to always intensify your focus and be aware of what is going on or what is going to happen in cyber security world and be one step ahead of the bad actors to ensure your company is away from any emerging cyber threats.
