Blog Post October 27, 2022

How Cybercriminals View Cyber Risks

The Scale of the Cyber Security Threat

According to Forbes¹, 2022 will present us with a pack of diverse and terrifying cybersecurity challenges. Everything from supply chain disruption to increased smart device risks contribute to a continued cybersecurity talent drought. Cybercrime Magazine ² states cybercrime will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Global cybercrime costs are predicted to rise by almost 15 percent yearly over the next four years. With the variables of the pandemic, cryptocurrency and the rise in remote working are coming together to create a target-rich environment for criminals to take advantage of.

How Does Cyber Security Work? The Challenges of Cyber Security

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information, ranging from extortion to malware and more. To best understand cybersecurity, let’s investigate the individual sub-domains:

Application Security

SaaS or PaaS application security covers the implementation of different defenses in an organization’s software and services against a diverse range of threats. Cybersecurity experts are expected to write secure code, design secure application architectures, implement robust data input validation, and more, to minimize the chance of unauthorized access or modification of application resources.

Identity Management

Identity Management and Data Security

Activities, frameworks, and processes enable the authorization and authentication of legitimate individuals to an organization’s information systems. These measures involve implementing powerful information storage mechanisms that secure the data, whether in transition or residing on a computer. In addition, this sub-domain makes greater use of authentication protocols, such as two-factor or multi-factor.

Mobile Security

Mobile security is a big deal today as more people rely on mobile devices. This subdomain protects organizational and personal information stored on mobile devices like tablets, cell phones, and laptops from different threats like unauthorized access, device loss or theft, malware, viruses, etc. In addition, mobile security employs authentication and education to help amplify security.

Network Security

Network security covers hardware and software mechanisms that protect the network and infrastructure from disruptions, unauthorized access, and other abuses. Effective network security protects organizational assets against a wide range of threats from within or outside the organization.

Cloud Security

Cloud security relates to creating secure cloud architectures and applications for companies that use cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services, Google, and Azure.

Natural Disasters

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning

Not all threats are human based. The DR-BC subdomain covers processes, alerts, monitoring, and plans designed to help organizations prepare for keeping their business-critical systems running during and after any incident (massive power outages, fires, natural disasters) and resuming and recovering lost operations and systems in the incident’s aftermath.

Cybercrime

Cybercrimes

Cybercrime is any unauthorized activity involving a computer, device, or network. There are three generally recognized classifications of cybercrime: computer-assisted crimes, crimes where the computer is a target, and crimes where the computer is incidental to the crime rather than directly related.

Below is a list of common threats:

Malware: This threat encompasses ransomware, spyware, viruses, and worms. It can install harmful software, block access to your computer resources, disrupt the system, or covertly transmit information from your data storage.
Adware: This threat is a form of malware. It’s often called advertisement-supported software. The adware virus is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) installed without your permission and automatically generates unwanted online advertisements.
Trojans: Like the legendary Trojan Horse of mythology, this attack tricks users into thinking they’re opening a harmless file. Instead, once the trojan is in place, it attacks the system, typically establishing a backdoor that allows access to cybercriminals.
Botnets: This especially hideous attack involves large-scale cyberattacks conducted by remotely controlled malware-infected devices. Think of it as a string of computers under the control of one coordinating cybercriminal. What’s worse, compromised computers become part of the botnet system.
Structured Query Language (SQL) injection: An SQL attack inserts malicious code into a SQL-using server.
Phishing: Hackers use false communications, especially e-mail, to fool the recipient into opening it and following instructions that typically ask for personal information. Some phishing attacks also install malware.
Man-in-the-Middle attack (MITM): This attack involves hackers inserting themselves into a two-person online transaction. Once in, the hackers can filter and steal desired data. MITM attacks often happen on unsecured public Wi-Fi networks.
Denial of Service: DoS is a cyber-attack that floods a network or computer with an overwhelming amount of “handshake” processes, effectively overloading the system and making it incapable of responding to user requests.
Cyberterrorism: This threat is a politically based attack on computers and information technology to cause harm and create widespread social disruption.

As data breaches, hacking, and cybercrime reach new heights, companies increasingly rely on cybersecurity experts to identify potential threats and protect valuable data. So, it makes sense that the cyber security market³ is expected to grow from $217 billion in 2021 to $345 billion by 2026, posting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.7% from 2021 to 2026.

Knowledge is power, and staff awareness of these type of threats is valuable in the cybersecurity puzzle. Giving business staff training on the fundamentals of computer security is critical in raising awareness about industry best practices, organizational procedures, and policies and monitoring and reporting suspicious, malicious activities. This subdomain covers cybersecurity-related classes, programs, and certifications.