The sudden shift towards remote work shows no signs of dying down. The pandemic gave an enormous opportunity for cybercriminals everywhere. The increase in cybersecurity needs for companies has always been there, but COVID-19 took everything to a new level.
A Peak into The Cyber Threat Landscape
Here's a list of cyber threats that make the landscape diverse and incredibly stagnant:
Some of the most malicious actors in any cyberattack are internal employees, who, with the combination, might have minimal supervision and power to cause some real trouble.
Cybercriminals are genuinely masters at recognizing weak data security measures that aren't up to date and robust enough to withstand any potential severe attacks.
Many hacktivists (hackers who are activists fighting for social and political matters) are a definite growing threat to cybersecurity.
Something that needs to be discussed is script kiddies, or junior hackers, who are dabbling into cyberattacks on different institutions and trying to improve their coding skills.
The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has made many of these issues an even more significant concern that shows no signs of calming down soon.
Many small and medium companies with a BYOD or "Bring Your Own Device" into the office present a growing security risk. This pandemic has helped to increase as many employees use their tech to access sensitive company information.
Human error is one of the worst culprits. Examples of employees using their computers to work on company files might only sometimes need to run their antivirus continuously. This difference in cybersecurity is certainly a concern for business leaders still operating in the dark ages and still need to get used to working with virtual teams across the globe.
A Change is Going to Come
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 20% of cyberattacks were from unseen malware and various methods. This number went up to 35% as the world went towards remote work, with attacks becoming more sophisticated.
As more and more hackers up their game and frankly improve, the burden to protect company networks and sensitive information is only beginning.
A great example is that phishing attacks have become more complex and frequent, with many hackers using different channels, such as voice (vishing) and SMS (text messages). These ransomware attacks are a popular favorite among many cybercriminals, leading to severe losses.
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