By Mr. Vishal Gupta
Technological advancements boost innovation and efficiency, but they also expose businesses to potential vulnerabilities that can be misused. So, cyber security professionals face the daunting task of anticipating, preventing and responding to these ever-evolving threats. Here are the top 7 emerging threats that cyber security professionals should focus on…
- Supply Chain Software Attacks
Cyber criminals using devious means infiltrate organizations by breaking into their supply chain systems through trusted suppliers and vendors. Targeting such indirect paths, they not only affect software updates, but also insert malicious code to cause widespread damage.
With growing demand for speedier software release cycles and greater trust in open-source libraries, vulnerabilities of supply chains can worsen. To effectively fight against supply chain software attacks, organizations should take a proactive approach by implementing a tested incident response plan and continuously monitoring threats to strengthen protection against potential cyber threats to the system.
- Emerging Threats from AI
As the world of cyber security evolves, hackers are harnessing AI power for fraudulent activities. AI-driven cyber attacks present wide-ranging threats and significant challenges. For instance, AI-powered malware can change cleverly to avoid detection, spot weak targets and customize attack methods to put age-old cyber security defences to the test. These attacks can exploit system’s weakness by manipulating algorithms to create inaccurate results and lead to possible data breaches and system compromise.
Moreover, AI models heavily rely on training data, which can be manipulated during the training phase to introduce biases or vulnerabilities, a technique known as data poisoning. The emergence of deepfakes and identity manipulation further exacerbates the threat landscape, as they pave the way for disinformation dissemination. Leveraging AI, itself, to defend against AI attacks can be a smart move. AI-driven intrusion detection systems will be able to spot and fight malicious patterns much faster than traditional systems.
- Challenges to Cloud Security
Cloud technology has totally changed the business world, offering unparalleled scalability and adaptability. But, with these advantages, organizations now face unique cyber security obstacles that require attention to secure their valuable digital assets. Data breaches remain a major concern in cloud environments.
To protect against cloud cyber attacks, businesses must follow a zero-trust strategy, encrypt data, regularly back up data, prioritize access control through IAM and MFA, use endpoint and network security measures, review security configurations, update and patch systems, secure APIs and carry out security audits.
- Skill Shortages
Scarcity of cyber security professionals has caused a rise in security breaches. So, companies that have vacancies in cyber security positions are prime targets for criminals on the lookout to exploit vulnerabilities. Organizations can take on virtual experts, such as Chief Information Security Officers (vCISOs) and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), from professional third-party services to effectively plug the gaps in their cyber security talent pool. Automated security tools are important for proactive security and protecting valuable digital assets.
- Misconfigurations
Even the best security systems may have at least one defect in their installation and setup process. Such misconfigurations can occur when security settings are not implemented correctly, or in case of anomalies during set up. These can create vulnerabilities that can expose applications and their data to possible cyber attacks or infringements. These errors can happen at different levels of application stack—including web or application servers, network services, databases, development platforms and frameworks, cloud containers, virtual machines and so on. To safeguard these vulnerabilities, businesses must prioritize regular testing, maintenance and ongoing support to ensure the strength of their cyber security measures.
- Expanding Attack Surface
Today, organizations have to keep fighting against changing cyber threats that originate from the expanding attack surface, covering both the physical and digital areas. The fast growth of cloud computing, IoT devices, mobile applications, APIs, open-source code, remote work, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies and interconnected supply chains have created opportunities for sophisticated attacks and will continue to present new challenges in future. So, organizations must put in place proactive security measures—including encryption, robust access controls, constant monitoring and employee awareness.
- Ransomware 2.0
Ransomware 2.0 is a massive jump into the cyber threat realm as it takes the theft of sensitive information to unparalleled heights before locking files away. These incidents have become more dangerous with attackers threatening to sell or expose the stolen data if payment is not made. Besides, the rise of Ransomware 2.0 goes beyond mere file encryption, since hackers now set their eyes on critical infrastructure and industrial control systems (ICS), causing immediate threats to important services and national security.
A proactive approach to fight against high-end Ransomware 2.0 attacks may include regular data protection in secure and secluded environments, implementation of cutting-edge endpoint protection solutions and utilizing dynamic e-mail filters to prevent phishing attempts.
Conclusion
To tackle a plethora of cyber security challenges, businesses should adopt a holistic approach, remaining constantly alert, investing in state-of-the-art technologies, providing comprehensive training and education, conducting regular security checks, following industry standards and regulations, developing clear incident response plans and smooth integration of cyber security measures in their overall business strategy.
(The author is Mr. Vishal Gupta, CEO and co-founder Seclore, and the views expressed in this article are his own)
