Investor, Founder and CEO of idwall. Improving trust through technology in LATAM.
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Countless scams, security breaches, frauds and data leakages happened last year, and the trends indicate they'll keep happening in 2022. In fact, the results of a study by PwC show companies' growing concern regarding information security and that 69% of organizations predict they'll increase their investments in cybersecurity in 2022.
Based on my industry experience, here are five trends in cybersecurity I suggest companies keep an eye on in this new year.
1. Ransomware Cyberattacks
According to study findings, 71% of the cyberattacks in 2020 were financially motivated. Ransomware attacks, which usually involve keeping the database of a company hostage and asking for some sort of ransom, like cryptocurrency, to release it is a type of crime I believe will grow this year. A single downloaded malicious file can cause grave damage to a company’s finances and reputation. So, professionals must be well-positioned and educated about how to deal with emails and files from unknown or untrustworthy sources.
2. 5G Vulnerabilities
Transferring data through the cloud has become a reality and a necessity for remote work. With the arrival of 5G, transfer speeds are expected to hit 10 GB per second, increasing the pace of business.
Although it's seen as a great advantage for communication worldwide, 5G also opens doors for new cyber threats. The high speed of data transferring will allow hackers to infect more data packages and spy on companies without being noticed. To avoid that, higher levels of security and monitoring must be implemented before relying heavily on 5G for transfers and data communication via the cloud.
3. Remote Environments And The Decentralization Of Access
As I’ve previously mentioned, we're living through a great change in the standard work model. And the decentralization of professionals creates vulnerabilities at several points of access. Companies have less control over the network of their employees and what's being accessed where the work is being performed. With that, protecting the work done remotely and ensuring that security policies are being followed continues to be a challenge in 2022.
Outside the corporate office, it's easier for an employee to accidentally open a phishing email or reveal their access credentials. In fact, 85% of cyberattacks involve the "human element" and 36% come from phishing. And there are even some internal bad actors that take advantage of the scenario to access and share data while unsupervised.
To help mitigate this, you'll want to invest in employee cybersecurity training and establish a set of best practices to follow. Many companies are also establishing a zero-trust approach to accessing sensitive data.
4. Synthetic Identities
Synthetic identity fraud is among the crimes growing in the U.S., and the tendency is to expand to other countries. In this type of fraud, scammers combine real and fake data to create a new identity to financially defraud people. These crimes are easier when performed online and include credit card requests and digital account openings.
Analysts warn about the emergence of organized recruiters that will make it harder for companies to detect fraudsters during the hiring process. This means scammers are hired on as employees and then have access to valuable information. To prevent this, companies should invest in confirming candidate identities through public and private sources with wide access to a history of consistent information.
The growth of synthetic identity scams shows that companies and government organizations are not ready to deal with this sort of crime. Identity management is still a challenge faced worldwide. For a synthetic identity to be successfully created, a hacker must access a data system containing identify information. So, according to McKinsey analysts, identity management, message security and network security are the main investments that companies must make to help ensure cyber safety in 2022.
5. Offline Fraud
Not all fraudulent activities happen online. Sometimes, smartphones are stolen to access a person’s financial or shopping apps to make transactions. Another practice is to take a picture of a person’s password while they’re typing it. To help stop offline fraud, significant cybersecurity investments should be made in such areas as advanced financial security technology, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and automation for back-office processes.
Consumers are going increasingly more digital, expecting efficient service, quick answers and an overall good experience throughout a process, whether it be opening a new account, making transactions or renting a car. So, cybersecurity tools are essential for companies to avoid data breaches and their consequences, such as financial losses and—of utmost importance in the digital world—negative effects on their brand image.
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