AI role in shaping the new world for 2023. Emerging India Analytics.
In 2022, cybercrime continued to wreak havoc. From January to November of this year, nearly 1.9 million cyberattacks were recorded in India against the healthcare industry, while the number of cyberattacks against Indian government agencies is expected to double by 2022, making India the most targeted country in this sector.
Over the last three years, the number of cyber attacks in the country has tripled. The total number of cyber security incidents tracked by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) in 2019 was 3,94,499.
The figure increased to 11,58,208 in 2020, and then to 14,02,809 in 2021. So far this year, 6,74,021 cyber security incidents have been reported.
Experts predict that the magnitude and novelty of digital attacks in 2023 will only increase as cybersecurity teams around the world face a task unlike any other: securing access to their individual organizations’ data across hundreds of remote access points.
Here are some trends to look out for in 2023:
- Accelerated 5G adoption will exacerbate vulnerabilities
According to a recent GSMA report, the number of 5G connections in India is expected to reach 88 million by 2025. While the focus is currently on delivering faster data speeds, lower latency, and an overall functional redesign of mobile networks, the cloud, according to cyber security firm Palo Alto Networks, will expose the 5G core to cloud security vulnerabilities.
Because only 114% of Indian organisations have a plan in place to secure their 5G/4G environment, CISOs must be wary of large-scale attacks from any source, including the operator’s own network.
2. It will be critical to secure connected medical devices
New healthcare capabilities, such as virtual healthcare and remote diagnosis, have been enabled by digitization. However, because of the prevalence of legacy and sensitive data, healthcare will be an appealing target for cyber threat actors.
According to Palo Alto, ensuring the cybersecurity of medical IoT will be as important as ever for patient safety because the closer a patient is to a device, the greater the likelihood of weaponization by bad actors.
3. Authentication with multiple factors
According to software company Varonis, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a critical security measure that can protect users even if their passwords are leaked — but MFA only helps when it is enabled and enforced.
Without MFA, attackers have a simpler path to compromise an organization. Criminal organisations have been known to obtain usernames and passwords from data breach dumps on the dark web.
They try every credential in the book in order to brute-force their way into internet-facing systems and gain access.
4. Data is overexposed due to internal sharing links
Sharing links is useful for collaboration, but it also poses a significant security risk. According to Varonis, the ease of sharing makes protecting sensitive data difficult. When insiders or external attackers gain unauthorised access to data, it is immediately vulnerable to ransomware and theft.
5. Cybercriminals’ new playground will be the metaverse
With an estimated $54 billion spent on virtual goods each year, the metaverse could provide cybercriminals with a new playground. The immersive nature of the metaverse will open up new doors for businesses and consumers alike, allowing buyers and sellers to connect in novel ways. Companies, as well as cyber attackers, will use mixed reality experiences to diversify their offerings and cater to the needs of consumers in the metaverse.
6. Supply chain attacks are gaining traction
These attacks involve hackers attempting to gain access to a company’s systems by targeting its suppliers or other partners. Globalization has significantly increased the flow of commodities around the world; however, as manufacturing and supply chains become more interdependent, supply networks are now spread over greater distances and are more susceptible to disruption.
7. Start mining bitcoins, Alexa!
According to cybersecurity firm Trellix, hackers will use the advanced capabilities of consumer and enterprise IoT devices to mine cryptocurrencies.
8. Artificial Intelligence’s Potential
Since the introduction of artificial intelligence and machine learning to all industry sectors, cybersecurity has undergone tremendous changes, including face recognition, natural language processing, and autonomous danger detection. However, it also allows for the retrieval of sophisticated spyware and attacks that circumvent the majority of data security defenses.
