2019’s First Quarter already ended, and as we can see cybersecurity issues are not bound to slow down any time soon. We have provided many embarrassing and sad stories of companies and public sector entities falling for cyber attacks, phishing, malware infection and other issues. We are here to help make our readers aware of all the risks involved when it comes to the use of the Internet, using smart devices and other electronic gadgets. The following are the topmost issues people need to be aware of:
The world needs more IT professionals, preferably with cybersecurity knowledge.
In August 25, 2018, we published a report titled “IT Professionals In Today’s Challenging World”, where we highlighted that the United States alone needs to find 285,000 cybersecurity professionals. We posted a follow-up article in November 28, 2018 which covered the Australian job market, where the shortage of qualified IT Cybersecurity professionals are hurting Australian businesses in more ways than meets the eye. These two highly industrialized nations with an enormous budget and host many Fortune 500 companies are having problems that should be easy to solve, yet unable to. Throwing money at the problem does not mean the issue gets resolved, as the problem of manpower in the IT Industry is a perennial problem worldwide. It can be considered as at a severe level, similar to the common critical world concerns such as climate change and growing equality in the world.
The changing landscape of insuring companies and individuals
Insurance companies are expanding their market, paving the way for cybersecurity-issues as a reason to claim insurance benefits. Of course, with this development, the victims will be able to receive compensation and the possibility of recovery can become possible in a shorter time. However, just like the rest of their portfolio, insurance providers need to do a delicate balancing act. It is a new market for them, hence prices cannot be considered as stable yet, but overestimating the cost of cybersecurity insurance may hurt insurance providers as well.
Cybercriminals are also smart
The days when cybercriminals were usually script-kiddies who wanted their 15-minute of fame. Also, known as digital vandals, that was the only thing that they can do. However, cybercrimes today are “professionals” in their own right, they have the knowledge, the drive and the money to conduct their R&D. Many cybercriminals today are even under the funding of state-actors, countries who maintain their own internal hacking team and their own equipment. Those who are tasked to develop malware on-the-fly, to make more adjustments, through the use of command and control servers.
Internet-of-Things’ security cannot be downplayed
IoT devices are computers, no different from the traditional laptop, desktop, and smartphones that people already have. Just like any computer, it requires continuous support from its vendor, its software needs to be updated at the soonest possible time that the patch is available from the vendor.
The evolution of Phishing
People are easy to trust a message, users need to understand that cybercriminals are after their data. Having that principle in mind, people have a lesser chance of disclosing their data to anyone.
The most important thing is to empower the users with knowledge and training in order for them to be made aware of the risks. We will continue to educate its readers of the trends in cybersecurity and mitigation techniques to prevent becoming the next victim of cybercrime.
Related Resources:
Top 10 Misconceptions In Cybersecurity
5 Likely Cybersecurity Trends For The Rest Of 2019