The opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
This time last year, I reviewed the cybersecurity landscape around the world and predicted that the year ahead would involve continued growth in advanced threats targeting home users, ransomware and gaming as growing attack vectors. Looking back to 2022, we do see these predictions come to fruition.
Through 2023, we can expect continued trends in attacks targeting consumers and remote workers, such as phishing and social engineering attacks, including email and SMS scams, which are often used to exploit individuals.Trojan horse viruses, sophisticated malware, and new attack vectors will be highly prevalent in 2023, including new threats such as those known as Metaverse attack vectors “Big Brother” Discovered by RAV researchers.
With all of this in mind, what else can we expect from 2023?
1. Phishing and social engineering
Unfortunately, humans remain the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. Home users remain the easiest target as AV providers focus on capturing corporate dollars for their services. By 2023, phishing and social engineering scams will become more sophisticated, and cybercriminals will use more sophisticated techniques, such as deepfakes.
The continued use of email phishing is to be expected, with Office documents hiding macro code still being used as a vehicle to lure users into running malicious code in email. Other means of deploying scams, such as SMS and social media platforms — whether it’s affiliate links, clickbait, or credential pages trying to steal your password information — are likely to continue.
Raising awareness among online users is the best way we can stop these phishing attempts from being successful. Watching for simple signs like misspelled words, incorrect use of URLs, and completely irrelevant messaging can have a big impact.
Related: Emerging Cybersecurity Trends for 2023
2. RaaS and CaaS
Ransomware as a service (RaaS) and overall cybercrime as a service (CaaS) are on the rise. Data breaches are to be expected, as data is still viewed as a lucrative barter trade on the dark web. These services are becoming more common as cyberwarfare continues. The nature of the dark web is changing as the motivations behind cybercrime shift from stakeholder to geopolitical. Worryingly, cybercriminal groups can now use the malware they trade on these platforms to go after more sensitive computing systems connected to critical infrastructure and government services in other nation-states.
3. Online User Demographics
Online victims are getting younger. We will continue to see continued targeting of unprotected consumers, such as teenagers, who are highly connected, start using cryptocurrencies and purchase Metaverse and other digital assets. Likewise, criminals themselves are getting younger and younger. Cybercrime among teens and young adults now runs the gamut from large-scale attacks on businesses and governments to low-level crimes against family, friends and strangers. Online use will also fuel hacktivism—younger generations can use their online skills to express their grievances in ways that older generations either did not have access to or could not.
Related: The Business Leader’s Beginner’s Guide to Cybersecurity
4. Bypass 2FA
The trend of cracking and bypassing two-factor authentication (2FA) is on the rise and will be exploited more and more in the coming year.It is likely that in the future, we may develop to three or even Four-Factor authentication. As the technology to crack multi-factor authentication continues to develop, more and more companies may choose to use biometric authentication.
5. Next Generation Threats
As next-generation technologies such as virtual reality become mainstream, we will see continued deployment of next-generation threats. Whether the allure of the metaverse and augmented reality will carry over into 2023 remains to be seen — but as ever, new vectors offer new opportunities and a wider attack surface.
Related: The 4 Biggest Cybersecurity Risks of Working From Home
what can we do?
While cybersecurity concerns persist, there is sometimes a glaring lack of action.For example, 12 months after the Log4J hack, the CISA and FBI agencies were concerned that many companies still hadn’t applied the update, despite their security alert The warning says that if organizations have not patched or mitigated the Log4j vulnerability, they should assume their network is compromised and act accordingly.
Both organizations and individuals need to transform their cybersecurity strategies into a more comprehensive approach. Log4J is a great example of why cybersecurity companies shouldn’t rest on their laurels. Threat actors are perfectly capable of playing the long game, experts warn; even if disaster doesn’t strike just yet. It’s still okay unless you’re well prepared.
Like all aspects of technology, cybersecurity is fast-paced and constantly evolving. Security companies need to continually mitigate threats and deploy the best network security available to their users. One thing is certain in 2023: more hacks are coming our way. Cybercriminals will spend the next year fine-tuning their methods. The question is whether the defense can keep up.
