It’s a new year, and the start of a new year often marks a time to take a look forward at what we can expect for the coming year. In the realm of cybersecurity, experts are predicting that we will see a focus on privacy, evolving threat actors, “deep fake” videos, and election interference.
Businesses must remain aware of cybersecurity, as the pace of change is quite high, and outdated security measures can mean the difference between a failed breach and a successful one. Have business liability insurance (Cyber Liability in particular) in place to bypass harmful intrusions, and consider these rising threats.
Hybrid Threat Actors
A growing number of “hybrid threat actors” have been found. These are attackers who impersonate one type of adversary to disguise their true intentions. There may be a rise in the number of adversaries to adopt this technique and launch “imposter” attacks to obfuscate their true intentions, adding yet another layer of complexity to threat hunting and incident response.
Apple’s “Privacy as a Human Right” Campaign
The world’s foremost technology organization going all-in on privacy will shift the competitive landscape. Security and privacy could become a competitive differentiator for companies that follow Apple’s lead and grab “first mover” status in their markets. Those who aren’t up to date may risk meeting the unseemly fate of past organizations that failed to embrace important technology paradigms such as the internet, cloud, and mobile computing.
Election Misinformation Campaigns
The effectiveness of the Russian misinformation campaign of 2016 increases the possibility of increased copycat attacks for the 2020 election. These attacks could come from nation-states as well as domestic groups supporting rival U.S. politicians. This activity threatens to trigger a major public/private response to the online misinformation problem.
Manipulation of Stock Prices
There has been much publicity around the potential to impact elections using deep fakes, which are doctored videos enabling individuals to make it appear people said things they never said). However, not enough attention has been paid to how cybercriminals can make money using deep fakes against businesses. This might change in 2020, as we may encounter the first deep fake attacks designed to impact stock prices, by having CEOs, financial analysts, Federal Reserve leaders or other powerful economic figures make phony statements that will cause stock market movements. Cybercriminals would use these videos to make quick fortunes in the market.
Realignment of IT & Security Organizations
As boards view cybersecurity as a peer-level risk to traditional enterprise risks, such as lawsuits and product recalls, more CISOs should become peers of CIOs and other executives, rather than direct or indirect reports. This would cause a realignment of the IT and security organizations to eliminate conflicts and encourage collaboration.
Back to the Basics
Whether insufficient passwords, lack of education and training around phishing attacks, or simple upkeep and compliance, the tiny details of cybersecurity will continue to be the cause of a vast portion of compromises if left unaccounted for. Simple passwords only take minutes to crack by professional hackers.
About Arroyo Insurance Services
Arroyo Insurance Services was officially established in 1986, but we have roots dating back to before 1950. One of California’s leading client-oriented and independently owned agencies, we have over 140 employees with a combined experience of over 450 years, spread across 11 locations. We are committed to providing the best insurance and risk management services at the most competitive premiums, and backing it with hands-on service tailored to our customers’ needs. For more information on how we can mitigate your risks, contact us today at (877) 220-4769.