Emerging Cybersecurity Trends and Attacks

More and more organizations are deploying IT infrastructures to digitize and modernize their business operations. However, this process leads to a proliferation of expanded attack surfaces that provide threat actors with increased entry points for compromising internal networks and breaching sensitive data.

Almost 69% of companies have experienced multiple attacks in the past year from poorly managed and unknown internet-facing assets. The trend is set to continue in 2023 and beyond.

So, what are the emerging cybersecurity trends?

1. Increased regulatory and privacy pressures

Governments worldwide are taking significant measures to safeguard citizens’ data privacy.

Gartner, Inc. projects that modern privacy regulations will cover the personal data of 65% of the global population by 2023, a significant increase from the 10% coverage in 2020. Five major states will introduce comprehensive data privacy laws in the United States in 2023, and forty states will consider nearly 250 cybersecurity bills in 2022.

Security risk assessment and advisory services compliance consulting can help organizations overcome regulatory and privacy pressures. Specifically, security risk assessments can provide an understanding of data privacy risks.

Compliance consulting services can help organizations with strict compliance requirements to navigate complex regulatory requirements. Also, establishing a tabletop exercise compliance program can simulate a scenario-based exercise designed to test the effectiveness of a compliance program to identify and mitigate gaps.

2. Rising demand for third-party cyber risk management

Large enterprises deploy sophisticated defenses to protect their IT ecosystems and data silos.

Unfortunately, many adversaries circumvent them by targeting organizations in the supply chain with access to enterprise information. Supply chain attacks increased by 742% year-over-year in 2022 as third-party applications used to improve productivity harbor exploitable vulnerabilities that attackers can leverage to infiltrate victim environments.

Advisory security services and security health checks can assist in performing risk management of third parties by providing a comprehensive approach to identifying and addressing security risks associated with third-party relationships. The services help identify third-party risks, assess the effectiveness of third-party security controls, evaluate compliance with relevant regulations, and ongoing monitoring and assessment of third-party security risks.

3. More businesses are turning to outsourced cybersecurity services

Organizations struggle to manage cybersecurity due to its complexity and an ever-expanding cyber threat landscape. Most lack the necessary expertise and resources to equip and manage a full-fledged SOC, resulting in overwhelmed security teams. Hence, organizations may consider outsourcing their security operations to a consulting firm to address these issues.

The effectiveness assessment security consulting and incident response program assessment can help organizations improve their cybersecurity posture, reduce the likelihood of security breaches, and meet regulatory compliance requirements. By outsourcing these assessments to experienced cybersecurity professionals, businesses can benefit from their expertise and experience.

4. Spiraling insurance premiums are calling for detailed risk assessments

Cyber insurance costs are rising, making it harder for companies to secure coverage. As such, businesses must provide evidence of compliance with cybersecurity standards and best practices across various security areas to negotiate better premiums and secure better risk coverage. Enterprise security risk assessments will become more common to enable organizations to assess their cybersecurity maturity and proactively mitigate underwriting fears.

Emerging cyberattack trends to look out for

1. Insider threats and human error

Human errors and insider threats are leading causes of devastating data breaches. Accidental or purposeful flaws from employees can bring down the entire business, with a data breach cost expected to rise to $5 million in 2023. 63% of technology users account for the top insider threat adversaries, which calls for strengthened internal security measures.

Insider threats and human error can still occur even with the best security measures in place. Implementing an effective incident response plan can help mitigate the impact of a data breach and reduce the likelihood of future incidents. Furthermore, allowing professionals to perform security risk assessments and health checks can help organizations develop effective security policies to prevent insider threats and human error. This can include training employees on cybersecurity best practices, implementing access controls and monitoring tools, and establishing incident response plans.

2. Increasing omnichannel attacks

Phishing attacks have expanded to multiple channels and exploit communication technologies businesses use. Hackers use social media, phone calls, and SMS to target users, making the attacks more authentic. These attacks are challenging to defend against since they use social engineering tactics and don’t contain explicit threats until the final step.

Effectiveness assessment security consulting services can help mitigate omnichannel attacks by providing a comprehensive approach to identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in an organization’s security framework. They can also assist in developing a multilayered defense strategy that includes preventive measures, such as access controls and monitoring tools, as well as detective measures to identify and mitigate potential threats.

3. Fileless malware attacks will become a serious concern

Most cybersecurity solutions cannot detect fileless malware. The attacks do not require victims to open malicious links or download infected files to work. Instead, fileless malware exploits vulnerabilities in well-established and trusted applications already present on a computer and does not leave any trace. While challenging to develop and execute, fileless malware is here to stay and can cause significant damage when executed correctly.

Infrastructure security services can play a critical role in mitigating fileless malware attacks. Infrastructure security services can provide SIEM solutions that can collect and analyze log data from various sources in real-time to detect unusual activity and alert security teams to take action to prevent fileless malware attacks. They also provide security analytics solutions that can analyze network traffic patterns and detect anomalies, which can help identify fileless malware attacks before they cause significant damage.

4. Supply chain attacks will become greater threats

The global economy’s interconnectedness is its weakest link in cybersecurity. The recent global shortage of computer chips demonstrated this, where the biting shortage required the supply chain to be more dependent. Cybercriminals can leverage the increased interconnectedness to attack intermediaries in the supply chain to target one organization but have a ripple effect on countless businesses down the supply chain. We observed this attack trend in 2022; many believe it will persist in 2023.

Advisory security services and security health checks can assist in identifying and addressing security risks in the supply chain. These services aid in evaluating the effectiveness of suppliers’ security controls, assessing compliance with regulations, and monitoring and assessing third-party security risks.

5. Data breaches will increase in severity

Data breaches have been a headache for all business owners and are among the top security concerns in 2023. Access to sensitive data remains to be the primary motivation for cyberattacks. Therefore, protecting organizational data is a cybersecurity priority, as system and application flaws like bugs and unsecured endpoints pose serious risks to sensitive information. Developing a robust cybersecurity infrastructure is crucial for safeguarding intellectual property, customer information, and company data.

An Incident Response Program Assessment and an effective Incident Response plan can be instrumental in addressing data breaches in organizations. By assessing, organizations can identify potential vulnerabilities in their systems and develop a plan to respond promptly and effectively to data breaches. Having an established Incident Response plan can minimize the impact of a data breach, prevent further damage, and facilitate a quicker recovery.