Cybersecurity threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated, posing significant threats to businesses and organizations.
Cybercriminals use advanced techniques, including AI-driven malware and complex phishing attacks, to expose vulnerabilities in systems and networks. To defend against these cyber threats, your organization must continuously reassess security measures and follow established standards, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework.
Firewalls, intrusion detection, and prevention systems strengthen enterprises’ defense. Meanwhile, individual users can protect themselves with endpoint detection and response (EDR) and antivirus software solutions.
Understanding Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
The cost of cybercrime continues to surge and might reach a staggering $15.63 trillion by 2029. This emphasizes the need to address the growing complexity of cyber threats and the importance of enterprises investing in advanced security technologies. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework provides comprehensive guidance and best practices for improving information security and cybersecurity risk management. The framework addresses five pillars: identity, protect, detect, respond, and recover.
The framework covers three main categories. The first category is the five pillars, which are the five high-level functions. The two other main areas are the categories, which have 23 items, and the subcategories, which have 108 items. Other cybersecurity standards included in the NIST framework are ISO 27001, COBIT, NIST SP 800-53, and many others. The NIST framework comprehensively addresses every aspect of cybersecurity, ensuring your business is fully protected.
As organizations struggle with the complexities of advanced persistent threats (APTs), it’s essential to understand the NIST framework and the broad scope of cybersecurity challenges. Understanding major cybersecurity threats that pose long-term risks to data integrity and emerging rapidly evolving threats is crucial for better preparation and stronger defense against potential attacks.
Major Cybersecurity Threats
Every cybersecurity threat can do damage if it’s successful, but the threats in this section are the most prevalent cybersecurity threats that are successful by cybercriminals. Here are current major cybersecurity threats that users and organizations face.
Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks are widespread because cybercriminals use social engineering to target business employees. These cyberattacks account for $12 billion in business losses. Phishing attack emails contain a link users click to be taken to a cybercriminal’s controlled website, which delivers malware or intercepts a user’s credentials.
Recommendations for Phishing Attacks:
There are several ways to combat phishing attacks. First, a comprehensive security awareness training plan for all employees is required annually for re-training. Curiosity is a crucial topic to address during training sessions as it’s why many employees click on a link from an unknown user.
An email security gate (SEG) is installed in line with the public internet. It connects to a business’s email server and checks emails for malicious content. Suspicious emails are denied access to the company email server. In addition, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is essential in mitigating the risk of phishing. It is an extra layer in the authentication process, and cybercriminals cannot access your account without the second piece of information used in the MFA process.
Malware Attacks
Malware attacks can damage a business in multiple ways. They can be viruses, worms, spyware, adware, or trojan horses, all designed to damage a business’s digital resources. Additionally, malware can attack any device connected to a network, such as tablets, mobile devices, servers, printers, and computers.
Malware attacks can destroy or steal data, cause hardware failures, and allow unauthorized access to a business network and computer resources. They can also cause enough damage to disrupt daily business operations by slowing down computers and continually redirecting an employee’s computer to malicious websites, making the computer more vulnerable to further attacks.
Recommendations for Malware Attacks:
Organizations can prevent malware attacks using endpoint detection and response (EDR) security software, which examines files and processes for suspicious activity. This software detects, blocks, and remediates threats in a business network. Endpoint security software also includes antivirus and antimalware protection software. Keeping software updated and using non-administrator accounts for typical use should be cyber security practices that help prevent malware attacks.
In addition, employees can do the following to help eliminate malware attacks:
- Do not click on links or download anything from unknown users.
- Do not download software from pop-up windows that may randomly show up.
- When prompted to update the system or antivirus software, do so immediately. If you are unsure what to update, check with the cybersecurity staff.
Ransomware
Unfortunately, ransomware is one of the more popular methods cybercriminals use to attack businesses due to the potential financial gain criminals may receive. Ransomware holds business data hostage until a company pays the dollar amount a cybercriminal is requesting.
Failure to pay a ransom request could have dire consequences for an organization if its data is destroyed. Health care organizations are among cybercriminals’ favorite targets for ransomware attacks, as medical records and scheduled appointments can be life-and-death decisions for healthcare management if the ransom is not paid.
Recommendations for Ransomware Attacks:
Using Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) security software on all endpoint devices will prevent your business data from being encrypted. In addition, some endpoint security software, like SentinelOne, has a ransomware rollback feature. Implementing an effective cloud backup solution if a ransomware attack occurs prevents a business from paying a ransom, keeps your business up and running, and improves cyber resilience.
Weak Passwords
Weak passwords make a business extremely vulnerable to cyberattacks. Employees using weak passwords on cloud-based services leave an open portal that a cybercriminal can easily exploit. In addition, companies that use cloud-based services often have saved sensitive proprietary data and financial information, which should be privy to the management staff only.
Recommendations for Weak Passwords:
Besides the annual comprehensive security awareness training companies can use to discourage weak passwords, companies can also use a Business Password Management application. The password management application manages fully encrypted passwords stored in a password vault. Combining the password manager with the MFA process will deny cybercriminal attempts.
Insider Threats
Insider threats can be difficult to detect and prevent. Current employees, former employees, company contractors, or associates with the appropriate rights can potentially commit an insider threat. Employees with nefarious intentions who access critical data can significantly damage a business. Even benign acts of ignorance and carelessness can substantially damage a business, just as much as intended acts of greed or malice.
Recommendations for Insider Threats:
A security awareness training plan that covers this topic in great detail will help prevent this cybercrime. In addition, fostering a company environment of security awareness will help employees identify other employees’ behavior by specific indicators in their actions that can help minimize a threat to compromise business data.
Cloud Vulnerabilities
Remote work is not going away anytime soon. However, companies that want to continue offering this option to employees must ensure that cybercriminals do not exploit cloud vulnerabilities.
Account hijacking, misconfigured cloud settings, and insecure Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are opportunities cybercriminals look to exploit. Whether businesses are using cloud computing services or strictly providing onsite networking services, companies are still challenged with data breaches and unauthorized access more than a company with on-premises services only. The exploitation surface for cybercriminals has widened due to using cloud computing services, and companies need to address this exploitable surface specifically.
Recommendations for Cloud Vulnerabilities
There are specialized tools available that can check cloud storage security settings to prevent misconfigured settings. Some Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendors specialize in checking for cloud leaks and misconfigured settings. UpGuard is one of the vendors that provide these types of services. Additionally, transmitted data should use SSL/TLS encryption and MFA to enhance a business’s security measures and posture.
Emerging Cybersecurity Threats
Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
Supply chain vulnerabilities refer to the weak spots within your organization’s suppliers, processes, and delivery system networks. These vulnerabilities can hamper operations and lead to delays, increased costs, or even complete breakdowns in your supply chains.
Cybersecurity threats, such as data breaches, intellectual property theft, and operational disruptions, are examples of supply chain vulnerabilities. An unsecured payment process can alsoo expose sensitive financial information, leading to significant cybersecurity risks. These vulnerabilities arise from various factors and can affect every stage of the supply process, from sourcing raw materials to delivering the finished product to the customer.
Recommendations for Supply Chain Vulnerabilities:
Gather relevant data on your supply chain network to ensure your suppliers follow established cybersecurity standards. After assessing your suppliers’ security practices and overall management strategies, tailor the evaluation to your needs. It’s also important to understand that people play a key role in supply chain security so investing in a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness training can strengthen your supply chain risk management. Equip your staff to recognize and prevent various threats, from phishing and social engineering tactics to ransomware attacks and clickjacking schemes.
Compliance and Regulatory Challenges
Organizations and businesses face complex compliance and regulatory challenges due to different regulatory standards that vary by geography and industry. Risks such as unauthorized access, data breaches, or system vulnerabilities can lead to organizations failing legally mandated or industry-specific standards. When a business or organization compromises sensitive data and fails to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information, it could incur legal penalties or reputational damage.
Recommendations for Compliance and Regulatory Challenges:
To combat compliance and regulatory challenges in cybersecurity, organizations should understand the regulatory landscape by studying the laws and regulations that apply to their industry. You should also manage and protect your information asset using AI-powered tools to create a comprehensive data classification system. Additionally, regularly conduct comprehensive risk assessments to know which strategy to prioritize or where to allocate resources appropriately.
AI-Enabled Cyberattacks
AI-powered cyberattacks use artificial intelligence or machine learning (ML) to enhance their planning and scale. These cyberattacks use advanced algorithms to identify vulnerabilities, automate attacks, and adapt in real time, making them more difficult to detect than traditional cyber threats. Examples of AI-enabled cyberattacks include deepfake technology, social engineering, malware creation, advanced ransomware attacks, and highly personalized phishing attacks.
Recommendations for AI-Enabled Cyberattacks:
To effectively defend your organization from AI-enabled cyberattacks, it’s important to continuously implement security assessments while developing robust incident response plans that can adapt to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. You should also harness AI-powered security systems to automate your response to threats and reduce the window of opportunity for attackers. AI platforms will also enable more advanced threat detection, more comprehensive responsive strategies for monitoring suspicious activities in your network, and automated incident response for your organization.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Securing the Digital Frontier
The ubiquity of these risks makes cybersecurity a paramount concern for all businesses, irrespective of their size or industry. A thorough application of the NIST cybersecurity framework, regular cybersecurity assessments, and consistent employee training are crucial steps in creating a secure digital environment.
Businesses must prioritize prevention methods like endpoint detection and response (EDR) software, robust password management, and cloud security checks to combat phishing, malware, and ransomware attacks. As the digital frontier expands, so does the exploitable surface for cybercriminals, underscoring the significance of adaptive and comprehensive cybersecurity strategies. The financial and reputation costs of cyberattacks make cybersecurity no longer an optional add-on — but an integral part of every business strategy.
