Five Emerging Cyber-Threats to Worry About in 2019

Let’s look at Emerging Cyber-Threats … Cyber-attack has become a daily struggle for enterprises. Not only big fishes in the Information technology and competitive business industry are the victims, but even a small business has fall victim to online threats.

In a survey conducted regarding cybersecurity, it was stated:

“Every minute, 7 out of 10 people are hacked”

Thanks to the consistently evolving and growing Information technology, online crimes are no more about just simple hacking into one’s computer but it has advanced to the more malicious way of cyber threats and has amplified the risk in the technology, as well as, in other sectors. Cyber-attacks are not new in the IT world but the methods and means of cyber-attacks have certainly advanced to new levels. 

Cyber threats like creating Fake videos, fake images, mobile hacking, cryptocurrency, AI-generated phishing scam via emails, mobile hacking via different mobile applications, and add deep fakes in the mix.

These are just a few types of threats but the number of people who could be the possible next victim is increasing rapidly. It was even predicted by the National Security Center (NCC) that:

“There will be around 3.8 million cyber threats in the first quarter of 2019”

This is why exactly many organizations are leaning towards proactive risk management and countermeasures to secure business. Investments have been made for employees to have cybersecurity awareness. More are enrolling in an IT boot camp and pursuing a certification or a degree in the said field.

Therefore, we have also compiled a list of the biggest emerging cyber-threats that might put your business in peril:

Cyber-Threats to Worry About in 2019

Mobile Malware:

It is the era of mobile devices and which is why they on the top list cyber attackers to exploit. The reason is a poor vulnerability. Mobile malware target the operating system on mobile phones.

As more and more people now prefer mobile device over the use of desktop, employees and individuals use their own mobile phones to do business ( following the BYOD policy) are vulnerable to different malware like drive-by download, malware, mobile phishing, worms and more. Mobile browsers are not completely safe either. Mobile exploits can be avoided by using secure WiFi, install antivirus app and avoid download PDFs from unknown sources.

Cyrpto-jacking

Due to the popularity of Cryptocurrency, cyber attackers have a new way to make money without anyone knowing it. They can now easily carry out financial transactions thanks to ransomware. Cryptojacking, for attackers, is the easy means to earn a good amount of cash with minimal effort.

Cryptojacking is basically mining cryptocurrency by hacking third party devices: computers, mobile phones and tablet.

In a survey of 2018 of cybersecurity, it was estimated that around 3 million crypto-jacking hits were detected.

You can prevent the crypto-jacking attack by installing antivirus software, avoid clicking on add or links.

AI-Generated phishing Attacks  Suspicious Emails

Phishing is the most famous cyber threat and it’s not slowing down anyway. It’s used to gain unauthorized access to computers to steal login details and financial information. In phishing, the impersonator sends the malicious email or a link and encourages the user to open the email or the link in the email.

“93% of malwares are said to be delivered by emails”

The AI-generate phishing emails are more advanced are a big threat to vulnerable users. These AI-generated involve the use of fake images and videos in phishing emails which encourages the person to share the sensitive personal data.”

Deepfakes – Realistic Fake images and Videos

Deepfakes is the new emerging threat which has taken over the world by storm. It was first introduced to the world back in 2017 via Reddit targeting celebrities in several manipulated videos. Later big political figures like Barack Obama and Vladmin Putin were morphed in several videos and images.

Deepfakes, as the name suggests, is basically a combination of words “deep learning” and “fake”. Phishing emails are now designed by incorporating this artificial intelligence horror to lure people into handing over the private details.

This increasing smart threat can manipulate the images and videos which is still now hard to distinguish from the original ones. It was previously said that the threat is only restricted to celebrities and political VIPs but now not so sure. GAN (Generative Adversarial Networks) is the key element behind creating realistic fake videos and images.

Attacking from Cloud Computing:

Advancement in the digital world has provided the means to store data online via cloud solutions. Many organizations reach out to the third party to host their data on their servers. Many still avail remote IT services solutions. This led to the hacker to sneak into their systems.

Chenxi Wang of cyber-security firm, Rain Capital, stated that hackers now moving towards data-center malware. Amazon and Google are the big giants investing more in the providing the secure cloud platforms and after the recent cloudhopper incident that target 45 companies around the world, AVS and Google are the preferred platforms for other giants in the market.

The cyber threats highlighted in the blog are equally harmful as this one and call for strong security measures. Enterprise should be prepared to tackle forthcoming threats. Cyber security awareness should be part of the education curriculum and organizations should invest in employees training in the field by organizing workshops or certification in IT bootcamps.

Benefits of IT Bootcamps for Cyber Security Awareness

It is evident that whether it is a small business, enterprise, or an individual, all are required to take steps and keep an eye on emerging cybersecurity technologies to ward off the cyber-attacks. And, this can only be achieved if the team or individual are fully aware of the threat and how to tackle it.

Information technology Bootcamps are well- organized and fully equipped with focused programs and learning tools for the student to have fundamental skills in cybersecurity in a short time. The information given in the training sessions is intended to assist to identify, counter and solve business security loopholes like data breaches and other cybersecurity weaknesses.

As the Bootcamps are short, there are no extraneous courses which, consequently, help to stay focused on the concerned subject. Training sessions in bootcamps are designed to resolve real-world problems.

Organizations, as well as individuals, can get the most out of these cybersecurity bootcamps then they can from other resources:

• develop technical skills and hands-on expertise of technologies used for cybersecurity
• help adopt proactive security management approach to better manage and eliminate both external and internal threats
• help the business to retain customers, safeguard business revenue and save money

It’s without a doubt that to create a secure environment and to accomplish the business goal, cybersecurity awareness is necessary to take effective security measures and encumber the threat from happening.