Modern Cyber Security: The Evolving Threat
In today’s digital age, cyber-attacks are evolving at an unprecedented pace.As technology advances, so do the tactics and tools used by cybercriminals. This dynamic environment demands that organisations stay vigilant and adaptive. Relying on security solutions that worked in the past is no longer sufficient. Organisations need a comprehensive understanding of emerging threats and a full-scale approach to prevent them. The stakes are high, with potential breaches leading to significant financial losses, reputational damage, government issued fines, and operational disruptions.
AI-Enhanced Attacks
One of the most significant developments in recent years has been the rise of Artificial Intelligence. Whether it’s being used to analyse and detect diseases, detecting suspicious banking activity or simply helping draft an email. AI has not only made complex tasks more efficient and accessible to the general public including cyber-criminals, it has also enabled them to enhance their attack strategies, posing new security challenges.
Highly Targeted Attacks
Cybercriminals use AI to develop malware that is tailored to exploit the unique vulnerabilities of a particular organisation. This malware can be designed to infiltrate specific systems, steal sensitive data, or disrupt operations. Ransomware groups like Black Basta and Akira have been known to use AI to target specific industries and organisations, using sophisticated techniques to bypass security measures.
Automated Reconnaissance
AI is being used to streamline the reconnaissance phase of a cyber-attack by continuously scanning for vulnerabilities. It gathers information about potential targets with greater efficiency than human attackers, enabling cybercriminals to plan and execute attacks with increased precision and speed.
Adaptive Malware
AI-driven malware can adapt to the environment it is in, making it more difficult for traditional security measures to detect and neutralise. This type of malware can change its behaviour based on the defences it encounters, ensuring it remains effective even as security systems evolve.
Social Engineering
AI is revolutionising social engineering by making attacks more convincing and harder to detect. Cybercriminals use AI to craft personalised schemes, including deepfakes that create realistic fake images, videos, or audio recordings to impersonate trusted individuals. It is used to customises attacks by tailoring messages, mimicking trusted contacts’ writing styles, and using voice cloning for vishing attacks, making these schemes highly effective.
In 2022, scammers used AI deepfake technology to impersonate a company’s CFO during a video call, convincing an employee to transfer over $25 million to the attackers.
www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/24/b/deepfake-video-calls.htmlIncreasing Attacks on SMB’s
Small businesses are increasingly becoming prime targets for cyber-attacks. Contrary to the common belief that only large enterprises are at risk, small businesses often have weaker security measures, making them attractive to cybercriminals. These organisations are frequently used as testing grounds for new attack methods before being deployed to larger entities.
Such attacks can be devastating, with many small businesses lacking the resources to recover from significant breaches.
61% of SMBs reported being the target of a cyber-attack in recent years.
www.techrepublic.com/article/cyberattacks-small-medium-businesses-data-exfiltration/IoT Vulnerabilities
Wi-Fi connected devices have never been more popular. Internet of Things (IoT) devices often have weaker security measures, are manufactured by questionable entities, and frequently aren’t considered in an organisation’s cyber-protections. Making them attractive to cybercriminals.
These vulnerabilities can lead to unauthorised access and significant breaches.
Widespread use of IoT devices means the impact can be far-reaching, affecting both personal privacy and organisational security. Do you know who’s watching?
Over 50% of CCTV cameras are vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to outdated firmware and weak security measures.
www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/nearly-4-in-10-security-cameras-vulnerable-to-cyber-attacks/79499/Cloud Computing
The rise in cloud computing offers unprecedented flexibility and scalability, but inadequate security measures can leave organisations vulnerable. Often treated as “out-of-sight, out-of-mind,” cloud environments still face risks like misconfigurations, weak IAM policies, and insecure APIs. Leading to significant data breaches and unauthorised access.
Failing to secure cloud environments can lead to severe data breaches, financial losses, and damage to your organisation’s reputation.
93% of cloud breaches are due to misconfigurations.
www.ciodive.com/news/misconfigurations-cloud-deployments-report/582910/Increase in Attacks Using Legitimate Processes
An alarming trend across cyber-security professionals, is the increase in attacks that leverage legitimate processes to conduct malicious activities.
Cybercriminals are hijacking legitimate software and IT operations to disguise their attacks, making them harder to detect and mitigate.
This tactic involves using trusted processes and applications to execute malicious code, thereby evading traditional security measures that rely on identifying suspicious behaviour.
This method of attack underscores the need for advanced threat detection and response strategies that can identify and neutralise threats even when they appear to be legitimate activities.
Partnership with
With the ever-evolving cyber threats it is critical for all businesses to have the right security measures in place. Considering this and after extensive research into various cybersecurity partners, ACS IT Services has chosen to partner with Bitdefender, a global leader in cybersecurity, Who are leading the industry in their efforts to secure against modern cyber threats.
We feel that working with Bitdefender we are able to help our customers have the confidence that they have the best secure for their business.
In the coming weeks, we will be publishing articles related to Bitdefender’s extensive security portfolio and how you can utilise their technology in your organisation. Follow us on LinkedIn to stay updated on our Bitdefender and other articles.
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