Typical risks to cybersecurity
Phishing
Phishing attacks occur when consumers are tricked by email, text, or voice communications into installing malicious software, disclosing private information, or transferring money to the incorrect recipients.
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The majority of users are aware of bulk phishing scams, which are fake communications sent in big quantities that seem to be from a well-known company and encourage recipients to reset their passwords or input their credit card information again. More complex phishing schemes, such spear phishing and business email compromise (BEC), target particular people or organizations in an attempt to steal huge amounts of money or particularly important data.
Phishing is but one kind of social engineering, a category of interactive assaults and “human hacking” strategies that employ psychological manipulation to coerce individuals into making foolish decisions.
Theft of credentials and account misuse
According to the X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, 30% of assaults are identity-based, meaning they take advantage of genuine user accounts and misuse their credentials. As a result, identity-based assaults are the most popular way to get into business networks.
Hackers may take over accounts and steal credentials using a variety of methods. For instance, in order to get privileged service accounts, Kerberoasting attacks alter the Kerberos authentication protocol, which is frequently used in Microsoft Active Directory. Kerberoasting occurrences in the IBM X-Force team increased by 100% in 2023.
Insider dangers
Insider risks are dangers that start when authorized users—employees, contractors, and business partners—intentionally or unintentionally abuse their legal access or allow hackers to take over their accounts.
Because insider threats lack the telltale signs of authorized activity and are not visible to firewalls, antivirus software, and other security technologies that prevent external assaults, they can be more difficult to identify than external threats.
The usage of infostealer malware, which surreptitiously logs user passwords and other private information, also increased by 266%, according to the X-Force team.
AI assaults
Cybercriminals are utilizing AI to launch sophisticated assaults, just as cybersecurity experts are employing it to bolster their defenses.
Scammers utilize generative AI to create phony emails, applications, and other business documents in order to trick victims into giving money or disclosing private information.
Scammers may create convincing phishing emails in as little as five minutes using open source generative AI technologies, according to the X-Force Threat Intelligence Index. In contrast, it takes 16 hours for fraudsters to manually create the identical message.
AI tools used by corporations are also being used by hackers as attack vectors. Prompt injection attacks, for instance, are used by threat actors to trick generative AI systems into disclosing private information, disseminating false information, or worse.
The act of cryptojacking
When hackers take control of an endpoint device and covertly utilize its processing power to mine cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether, or monero, this is known as cryptojacking.
Shortly after cryptocurrencies were introduced in 2011, security researchers recognized cryptojacking as a cyberthreat. Cryptojacking is currently one of the top three areas of activity for cybercriminals, according to the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index.
DDoS, or distributed denial of service
A denial-of-service (DDoS) assault aims to bring down a server, website, or network by flooding it with traffic, typically from a botnet, which is a collection of dispersed computers that a hacker takes control of using malware and remote-controlled operations.
During the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of DDoS assaults worldwide increased. Attackers are increasingly threatening to conduct DDoS assaults until the target pays a ransom, or they are combining DDoS operations with ransomware attempts.
Myths about cybersecurity
Some misunderstandings still exist despite the fact that there are a rising number of cybersecurity events occurring globally and the knowledge gained from addressing these issues. Among the most hazardous are:
Strong passwords provide sufficient security.
It takes 62 trillion times longer to crack a 12-character password than a 6-character one, demonstrating the impact of strong passwords. However, there are also very simple ways to obtain passwords, including keylogging spyware, social engineering, purchasing them on the dark web, or bribing irate insiders to steal them.
The majority of cybersecurity threats are widely understood.
The environment of cyberthreats is actually ever-evolving. Every year, thousands of new vulnerabilities in both new and old devices and apps are revealed. There are more and more opportunities for human mistake, particularly when careless workers or contractors inadvertently result in a data breach.
Every cyberattack avenue is contained.
Cybercriminals are always coming up with new ways to strike. Hackers now have more opportunity to cause damage thanks to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), operational technology (OT), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and cloud settings.
My sector is secure.
Cybersecurity hazards are present in every sector. For instance, more industries than ever before are being targeted by ransomware attacks, such as healthcare providers, charitable organizations, and municipal governments. Critical infrastructure, “.gov” websites, and supply chains have all seen an upsurge in attacks.