What You Need to Know about Cyber Security in the Times to Come

Cyber Security is top in priority for any enterprise today. There have been so many malware attacks, especially ransomware attacks, in the recent past and many leading companies and organizations have been affected in a big way. The WannaCry attack and the NotPetya attack have reiterated the importance of cyber security in a never before kind of manner.

For hackers, for cybercriminals, it has all become very easy now. Ransomware attacks are now available as software-as-a-service (SaaS) and crypto currencies make cyber crimes really profitable. Added to this is the fact that despite stringent security measures that enterprises adopt, there remain sometimes loopholes and security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers to execute malware strikes and data breaches. Cyber security experts also point out that with the increase in the number of mobile devices and other personal devices by the employees of a company, things become a bit easier for hackers and much more difficult for businesses who seek to protect themselves.

Occurrences of cyber attacks have increased over the last few months; it’s sure to increase further in the months to come. Security professionals would undoubtedly have a tough time battling these malware and the attacks.

Ransomware definitely is the trend these days. Cybercriminals realize that ransomware attacks are much more profitable compared to any other kind of cyber attack.

Well, to be noted is that fact that the attacks are getting more sophisticated and advanced by the day. Cybercriminals are very soon likely to come up with ransomware that would be personalized or tweaked to suit an organization that’s targeted.

Attack vectors, it must be mentioned, are rapidly increasing today. As said earlier, there is an increasing number of mobile devices and other personal devices (thanks to BYOD, IoT etc) linked to an enterprise network now. With the number of staff members being high in many companies/organizations, it also becomes likely that someone would unknowingly take a risk, with their personal device that’s attached to the organization network, and this risk will eventually lead to a big data breach. Similarly, systems in an organization’s network also get linked to other organizations in the supply chain and this could provide hackers with a very easy attack vector.

So now, in this scenario, businesses and organizations must re-plan and re-devise their security strategies. Governments across the world also have a key role to play in ensuring proper cyber security.

However, the picture, in its totality, is more positive than negative. If more cyber criminals are coming up with more sophisticated kinds of malware and attacks, security firms and experts are coming up with even more advanced techniques and technologies to beat them. Automated monitoring technologies are now made use of by many leading organizations to prevent cyber attacks. The systems in their network would be constantly monitored for suspicious activities and new attacks would be blocked at the outset. Better trained security professionals and security firms are hired by companies to guard themselves against cyber attacks. Similarly, it now becomes important that companies should use the available technologies to predict future attacks. Enterprises also need to ensure that every single member of their staff, including the top brass people, see security as their responsibility.

Cyber security, in the times to come, would end up being more of a collaborative thing than just an aspect of the organizational machinery that’s taken care of by specialists.