Cybersecurity predictions are always challenging due to the evolving nature of technology and threats. However, here are some trends and predictions that experts have been discussing:
Growing Popularity of Using Internal Abusers
As cybersecurity products are getting a stronger grip on IT assets, the use of an internal abuser will become more popular. This will be further amplified due to the economic difficulties. Which make the financial benefits for those willing to cooperate more appealing.
Frustrated employees, especially those in IT/cybersecurity departments with high privileges, pose the greatest threat as they are fully aware of the enterprise’s “blind spots” and how to exploit them.
As remote work challenges continues to be dominant, data-leakage ransomware attacks will continue to grow as the required effort to generate legitimate proof-of-data is ridiculously low. Enterprises do not have control of who is looking over the shoulder of their employees while they work from home, and whether they have malicious intent (Remote Work Security).
Supply Chain Attacks
Events such as SolarWinds and log4j, among others, emphasized just how vulnerable our infrastructure is to supply chain attacks. The original concept of a Trojan horse will continue to flourish. As we’ve seen, sometimes going through the “main entrance” hidden within a legitimate application or appliance may prove to be the best option.
Embedded Devices
We all witnessed the impact that the logs4j had on the IT and cybersecurity markets. The good news though is that there are things you can actually do in order to patch, update and reduce the risk.
But what will happen when a similar vulnerability is found in hardware assets. Where patching and updating won’t be all that simple? Attackers understand the challenges and are aware of the different source code packages scanning products out there. They may focus their efforts on devices with embedded applications that are more difficult to patch.
Legacy Devices
Some devices, especially in the healthcare industry, where medical devices go through a rigorous certification process, are extremely difficult to modify. This is because it may require the device to get resubmitted for FDA approval. The constraint leaves a long trail of unpatched, unsecured legacy devices in the infrastructure. The risk is further amplified since some medical devices use popular platforms (i.e., Raspberry Pi) that are constantly getting challenged by potential attackers.
Camouflaged Devices
As some countries ban the use of certain vendors (i.e., US section 889b), it may push vendors/system integrators/OEM to use those unauthorized network devices. While reconfiguring their MAC identity and other unique parameters (i.e., SNMP EOIDs) as to not get flagged out by various asset monitoring solutions. Following this path will support potential attackers’ efforts, as well as bring financial gains to those vendors who are willing to take the risk.
Regulatory Changes
Governments around the world are introducing more stringent cybersecurity regulations to protect data and privacy. Organizations will need to stay abreast of these regulations and ensure compliance to avoid fines and reputational damage.
Increased Focus on Zero Trust
The Zero Trust security model, which assumes no trust inside or outside the network perimeter, will gain more traction. Organizations will move towards implementing Zero Trust architectures to better protect against insider threats and lateral movement by attackers.
Biometric Hacking
As biometric sensors authentication methods become more common, hackers will develop more sophisticated ways to spoof biometric systems. This could include deepfake videos for facial recognition systems or fake fingerprints for fingerprint scanners.
These are just a few potential directions that cybersecurity could take in the coming years. Staying proactive with cybersecurity measures, including regular updates, employee training, and investing in the latest security technologies, will be crucial for organizations to stay ahead of emerging threats.
