The FBI estimated that the total cost of cyberattacks in 2022 was approximately $6.9 billion. As the digital world continues to develop, new cybersecurity threats are emerging due to innovations like Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancement, the Metaverse, widespread adoption of cloud services, and Quantum computing.
Although it is difficult to foresee the future, analyzing potential attack vectors is essential to implement effective cybersecurity strategy. This article lists top cybersecurity predictions for 2023 which should be considered during cybersecurity strategy development.
The Rise of Multiple Clouds Adoption
In the wake of the pandemic, one of the most significant changes has been the rise in remote work made possible by the widespread adoption of cloud computing. The advantages of multi-cloud adoption, come with new difficulties for businesses. One of these difficulties is inconsistency, as some policies and changes made in one cloud app may be implemented very differently in another.
Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT
Practical implementation of artificial intelligence, creates new opportunities as well as threats in many industries, including cybersecurity. Companies and cybercriminals alike will use this technology to their advantage.
ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence technologies have recently seen a rapid rise and can help companies better defend themselves from cyberattacks, a thorough evaluation of AI tools is important before using them.
Zero Trust Becomes the Norm
The main cause of serious data breaches is careless reliance on others and overly broad access permissions. Cybercriminals targets the network to exploit a company’s resources fully. Therefore, zero-trust strategies have gained traction and become a realistic cybersecurity focus.
Despite not being a comprehensive solution, it has become an essential part of any cybersecurity strategy because it enforces appropriate access permissions and delivers more control.
IoT Cybersecurity Getting More Attention
The number of people using the IoT has increased dramatically. An increase in potential entry points for cybercriminals results from the diversification and growth of connected devices within a company’s network. As a result, keeping a close eye on them is essential, which in practice is difficult as many of them have weak passwords, unpatched vulnerabilities, or other security issues that make it difficult to use conventional security measures and the need to implement IoT security measures.
The Increasing Importance of API Protection
Application programming interfaces (APIs) are how information systems exchange information and therefore, APIs are essential for today’s IT world. On the other hand, APIs are susceptible to automated cyber-attacks like distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) . And as the number of attacks of this type increases, it is crucial to safeguard the business by taking the necessary steps to fix API vulnerabilities.
Social Media Scams Give Rise to A New Social Engineering
Today, cybercriminals often use social media as a starting point for other social engineering attacks, such as phishing, in the age of e-commerce and social media commerce. Increased attacks have led security experts to label social engineering as the “most dangerous” threat by 2022, with estimates ranging from over 5,000 victims who lost $42 million in 2017 to over 100,000 victims who lost $770 million in 2021.
Furthermore, the new virtual reality world of Metaverse has imposed new threats due to the entry of well-known brands that targeted both new users and cybercriminals looking for new avenues to steal personal information.
The Rise of Deepfake Technology as a Security Risk
With the rapid development of deep fake technology and the increasing authenticity of deep fakes, digital identities and digital copies of people’s DNA will be at risk of being stolen. Algorithms scavenging for digital data are becoming increasingly adept at mining social media platforms for user-uploaded content such as photos, audio, video, and other personal details.
Cybercriminals will soon begin using this vulnerability to create convincing digital personas to use in their attacks, making it necessary to develop innovative analysis methods to verify individuals’ true identities.
Expansion of Targeted Ransomware Attacks
Cybercriminals have found ransomware the most effective and widespread tool, which has proven very lucrative. Finding the best attack vector, the most valuable resources to attack, and the maximum amount a victim might be willing to pay is the main step in this attack. With economies weakening worldwide, cybercriminals are expected to target even more sectors, including healthcare and finance, with ransomware.
Conclusion
With the ever-evolving technology worldwide, cybersecurity threats will only grow in the years ahead. In 2023, the most important thing any company can do is to build a security culture and a solid foundation by considering cybersecurity predictions.
