The year 2022 has just ended, and most IT security officers feel overwhelmed by what has been a year that has seen no let-up on the cybersecurity front, marked by increasingly advanced and sophisticated techniques and strategies to bypass corporate security measures. Sadly, we don’t have any good predictions for 2023, here’s why cyber security will be a key focus.
Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim’s personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid off.
In 2022, for European companies, ransomware remained the most persistent and dangerous threat, as well as the most economically draining. Precisely, ransomware will continue to be the most damaging cybercrime tool.
According to CrowdStrike’s Global Threat Report 2022, during the reporting year, there was a worrying annual increase in data leaks related to ransomware attacks by 82 percent, with an average cost of €1.72 million for companies affected by this type of cyber attack.
The appeal of ransomware to cybercriminals is easy to understand: it is getting easier to deploy and very profitable.
Over the past two years, obtaining and using ransomware tools has become easier than ever, with an ecosystem of criminal vendors offering Ransomware-as-a-Service.
Paired with other key elements for the various stages of the operation, from stolen credentials to payment services to money laundering, also available as third-party services from a wide range of different vendors.
Simply consider that in 2022, all it takes to start operating as a cybercriminal is a credit card. This coordination of criminal service providers to provide specialization and automation is unfortunately set to grow over the next year. Ransomware will continue to expand until most businesses adopt advanced tools that can make a cyber attack less profitable.
In 2023, Europe will remain a target of digital threats despite some countries having higher cyber-risk management and security measures. Unfortunately, the difficulty to create appropriate technology solutions due to confusion surrounding regional regulations and privacy laws means that companies are still at risk in many parts of the continent. The lack of understanding regarding cloud technologies is another area needing continued focus as it could be crucial for reliable defense efforts against potential attacks.
As technology continues to advance, cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important. Data privacy and security must go hand-in-hand; when data is stolen or leaked, it poses a significant threat that can only be tackled with modern solutions like cloud computing and big data analytics. Keeping up with the ever-changing digital landscape will require next-generation approaches to protect valuable information from nefarious actors on the web.
In times of economic uncertainty, companies worldwide focus on cutting costs to weather the storm – but skimping isn’t an option when it comes to cybersecurity protection. Consolidating and leveraging existing licensed products can help streamline cost-effectiveness while preserving maximum levels of cyber defense for all business operations.
Companies often find themselves with more cybersecurity tools than they truly require, leading to irrelevant notifications and inconsistent levels of security. Moving away from this outdated approach towards a unified platform provides both financial savings and greater performance for the cyber analyst team. Thus, opting for one point of analysis can help keep costs down while maximizing effectiveness – creating an optimal solution that helps everyone stay secure.
2022 saw a dramatic increase in cyber adversaries’ malicious tactics, shifting away from traditional data encryption and towards extortion. Instead of only encrypting sensitive information, these attackers threatened to release the stolen data unless they received ransom payments worth millions for each attack. This tactic is particularly dangerous as it can be repeated multiple times without any additional effort on behalf of criminals – highlighting just how valuable the data remains for its rightful owners regardless of being compromised by an illicit third-party source.
Attackers are now relying on sophisticated, malware-free tactics to succeed in their breaches.
As companies focus heavily on malware defense strategies, interactive attacks have become the go-to option for criminals as they accounted for 71 percent of successful cyberattacks – a steep fifty percent increase from last year’s data.
Recently identified identity theft methods such as obtaining stolen credentials through dark web markets or other modes have made it easier than ever before for attackers to gain access without breaking into systems directly.
As the demand for malware-free attacks rises, identity protection is becoming increasingly vital to cybersecurity. Organizations must invest in new technologies that make it more difficult for criminals to launch identity-based assaults and develop policies and protections around them. Furthermore, companies need powerful solutions which give multiple opportunities to authenticate identities on their networks with advanced validation tools. Choosing a trusted technology partner can help ensure this happens securely and effectively as we move into 2023.
Choosing the right technology partner is essential to ensure proper access control within an organization. Data must be carefully divided based on individual roles, enabling workers like salespeople to see customer information where production staff would remain uninvolved. This safeguards data integrity and legitimizes every party’s role in supporting organizational success.
As cloud and SaaS services became increasingly popular, with their functionality and data flow extended across applications via APIs, malicious actors took notice. In 2022, the cybersecurity battlefield grew to include not only identities but also APIs – a trend that will continue into 2023.
Security risks associated with APIs are often overlooked, leading to potential data breaches and other negative consequences. To mitigate these threats, organizations should be aware of the most common issues – such as lack of visibility and monitoring; inadequate competency in API utilization; service availability problems; injection attacks through IoT devices connected via APIs – which can help ensure a secure digital landscape.
According to Gartner predictions, this vector is soon set to become one of the most commonly exploited attack methods as successful attacks in this domain have already been documented.
Consequently, it has become imperative for companies concerned about protecting themselves from such threats to adopt solutions that can capture signals coming from different IT infrastructure components along with endpoints.
Staying ahead in the ever-changing world of technology is no simple task. Choosing a vendor that can provide both flexibility and support has become increasingly important, as existing tools and processes have short lifespans.
Focusing on one product or technology alone won’t cut it – companies should look to form partnerships with vendors who not only offer transparency around their current capabilities but also demonstrate an understanding of new technologies emerging by 2023. Disaster Recovery services, audits, and enterprise DevOps practices can help manage effectively complex challenges.
This way businesses can ensure they are making informed decisions based on the most up-to-date information available while mitigating potential risks posed by our rapidly evolving digital landscape.
At Hicron Software House, we had a situation where, as a part of an audit, we were able to achieve unauthorized access to production (admin account) and access to all production files without logging in, so there were two quite serious security problems left by the previous vendor.
Choosing the right technology partner is essential to ensure proper access control within an organization, safeguarding data integrity and legitimizing every party’s role in supporting organizational success.
Hicron’s contributions have been vital in making our product ready for commercialization. Their commitment to excellence, innovative solutions, and flexible approach were key factors in our successful collaboration.
I wholeheartedly recommend Hicron to any organization seeking a strategic long-term partnership, reliable and skilled partner for their technological needs.
After carefully evaluating suppliers, we decided to try a new approach and start working with a near-shore software house. Cooperation with Hicron Software House was something different, and it turned out to be a great success that brought added value to our company.
With HICRON’s creative ideas and fresh perspective, we reached a new level of our core platform and achieved our business goals.
Many thanks for what you did so far; we are looking forward to more in future!
Hicron is a partner who has provided excellent software development services. Their talented software engineers have a strong focus on collaboration and quality. They have helped us in achieving our goals across our cloud platforms at a good pace, without compromising on the quality of our services. Our partnership is professional and solution-focused!
The IT system supporting the work of retail outlets is the foundation of our business. The ability to optimize and adapt it to the needs of all entities in the PSA Group is of strategic importance and we consider it a step into the future. This project is a huge challenge: not only for us in terms of organization, but also for our partners – including Hicron – in terms of adapting the system to the needs and business models of PSA. Cooperation with Hicron consultants, taking into account their competences in the field of programming and processes specific to the automotive sector, gave us many reasons to be satisfied.
