2018 saw some of the advanced cyber attacks in history. From Facebook to Marriot to Panera Bread, many companies fell victim to hackers, and the records stolen numbered in the billions.
2019 is promising to be even riskier for companies that do not properly bolster their data security. Use this article to familiarize yourself with potential threats to guard against this year.
Supply chain infiltration
Businesses protecting themselves with the most advanced security measures are still vulnerable and will find themselves being attacked from unlikely sources: their friends. By infiltrating a third party, hackers may turn one of your most trusted suppliers into a Trojan horse that lets malware through your front door.
2018 saw alarming threats of cyber espionage on some of the biggest U.S. companies, and a massive breach at Target a few years earlier was linked back to one of its key suppliers.
Social media hacking grows
Among Facebook’s 2.27 billion accounts and Twitter’s 320 million, it is estimated that at least 2% of Facebook accounts and 5% of Twitter accounts are fake.
Although hackers may trouble your business accounts, they are more likely to infiltrate your company through employee profiles. Through messages, authentication hacks, and other tricks, hackers can gain access to passwords and code that give them a skeleton key, or unauthorized access, to your company. Moreover, most employees will be too afraid to admit their mistake, allowing the wound to fester.
AI video and audio fakes
As AI, or artificial intelligence, and graphics tech becomes more advanced, hackers are able to create audio and video of real people using just a computer. Known as “deepfakes,” these incredibly realistic media snippets can mimic your brand, your spokesperson, or even your company leadership.
Imagine a hacker creating an audio clip of your CFO admitting that your company is under investigation for fraud. This may be completely untrue, but by the time the mess is cleaned up, you may have already lost half of your clients.
These attacks will grow frequent in 2019, because data is more valuable than ever. Only companies keeping a constant eye on security will catch and contain deepfakes in time.
Blockchain’s growing pains
Blockchain tech is seen as one of the most secure ways to transact, but it is also in its youthful stages and therefore ripe for opportunistic hackers.
Blockchain contracts are being pushed as easy, worry-free ways to provide payment for services. These contracts are designed to automatically release payment once programmed conditions are met. As of now, if a blockchain contract is created properly, no problems should arise. However, since these contracts are so new, many of them have bugs and flaws, allowing hackers to trigger payments and escape with millions in completely untraceable cryptocurrency. In other words, they are a hacker’s dream come true.
The rise of cloudhoppers
As we can see with blockchain, new technology lures hackers like flies to honey. Blockchain may not be pervasive in the system yet, but another relatively new advancement is: the cloud.
Although cloud storage is a safer option for security than locally housing your data, IT companies that manage cloud services make enticing targets for hackers. As hacking becomes more advanced in 2019, unprepared data security companies will fall victim to hacking, and the results will be catastrophic.
If a hacker invades just one IT firm’s cloud services, then the hacker can gain access to every client’s data. In short, do not abandon the cloud. It can help you stay competitive. Just remember to choose your managed IT services firm wisely.
Small businesses become popular targets
Big corporations will still fall victim to hackers in 2019. Company leadership (which has previously lacked a proper understanding of IT and cybersecurity) is starting to spend the necessary money and give security priority.
As a result, more hackers will work their way down the ladder to smaller businesses that have not upgraded their security. Before, these businesses were not worth a hacker’s attention. In 2019, however, they will be seen as easier targets, and you do not want to be one of them.
For more information
As your data becomes more valuable than ever before, it’s crucial to understand the benefits of managed IT services to protect your company and your customers. Just one breach could prove ruinous to everything you’ve worked so hard to build. In fact, 17% of companies hacked last year paid over $100,000 to deal with the aftermath.
Scale Technology is an Arkansas managed IT service provider that takes your security seriously. Our team is dedicated to building custom security solutions that fit your precise needs as well as educating your team on how to prevent breaches from within.
Do not be an easy target for hackers. Take action that secures your company and the information you have worked so hard to protect.
Our team will build custom security solutions that fit your needs, and educate your team on how to prevent breaches from within. For more information, contact Scale Technology today at (501) 213-3298.
