Hackers are always persistent. Where others would probably quit, they use ways to pass through barriers. Sometimes it can take them weeks or even months trying the new methods. This year, hackers will start to launch more sophisticated methods and attacks on everything from medical devices to critical infrastructures. 2016 will bring something more, no doubt about it. So, it is time to improve the methods of cybersecurity as well.
Every minute there are more than million attempts or attacks happening online. Study has shown that there will be around 7 billion devices connected and in use this year. This is a big 30% increase over the last year. When we get to year 2024, this number will go over 20 billion devices connected. Let’s put it this way, for each human being on Earth there will be around 2 or 3 devices. Imagine those number of devices, and what a playground it presents to hackers, they see this as a great opportunity.
Many users don’t pay enough attention to make sure their devices are secured. The evolution of mobile technology and cloud is requiring even tighter security, but there are also bigger risks as well. Smartphones are probably one of biggest risks as this category is constantly moving forward with big speed. Smartphones are also very attractive to hackers and criminals in cyber world because of the number of available apps, and also web browsing. This is called drive-by attacks. Still, products from Apple are having the strongest security. They have code for application reviews and that enables them to filter out applications that are potentially malicious before they end up installed on someones device. But even with this, it’s not a guarantee that everything is safe.
This year we are seeing the rise of so called headless worms which are malicious codes targeting devices like smartphones, medical hardware and also smartwatches. These are really nasty codes that are starting to float around millions of PC’s. The largest attack till this day has seen 15 million machines infected and being controlled just by 1 network, but with surface of attack on 20 billion different devices. This can even get worse and that number can get up to 50 million or even more.
So what can you and companies do to protect yourselves? Part of any strategy of cybersecurity is having good antivirus program, and keeping it updated. Companies should strengthen their security policies and educate workers about cybersecurity in order to preserve important business data.
