EXPERT FORECAST: THE BIGGEST CYBER THREATS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2023

 

With the accelerated growth of the Digitalised market and increased momentum of Digital transformations, Cybersecurity becomes the number one priority in multiple dimensions. 

In 2022, the market faced malware attacks, phishing, Social Engineering and data leaks that led to sensitive data losses, financial losses, credibility of the organisations, and in some worst cases complete shutdown of the organisation under attack. Attacking government installations, especially critical infrastructures, are getting marked as specific targets by Hacktivist and cyberterrorists.

Keeping all these incidents under consideration, Digital world is entering the new year 2023 with at most precautionary measures and reinforced defences. Learn about the latest trends and threats and take action to protect your business or organization from these threats now .

Cybersecurity Predictions 2023

1. Ransomware
2. Cloud Attacks
3. Critical Infrastructure Attack 
4. Phishing or Deep Fake Enabled Business Compromise 
5. API Ecosystem

Ransomware

AIDS Trojan, WannaCry, Cryptolocker, Petya, Bad Rabbit and Reveton don't these names sound familiar and scary at the same time? They indeed are scary malicious software or malware called Ransomware. Ransomware are specifically designed malware to attain access to sensitive data in one way or another and encrypt the network to deny access of rightful personnel. They demand ransom for the decryption key to regain the rightful access. 

If Organisations prioritise cyber security, Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testings shall be undertaken to fill up the security gaps. This step can immensely reduce the probability of cyber attacks. Even with preventive measures, the chance of a Ransomware attack is awfully high.

While targeting an organisation with a ransom attack,  Cyber attackers leverage the strategic and sensitive data without which the organisation could be crippled. Routine operations can be affected because of denial of access to important files and documents causing inconvenience to the organisations and their customers.

In the worst case scenario, organisations may be forced to shut down completely or reduce their operations significantly until the issue is solved. Thus organisations under attack are compelled to pay the ransom to restore access to the data.

Even after ransom payment, there is no guarantee of regained access or genuine decryption key from the cyber attackers. Unpredictable nature of attackers increases the probability of losing both data as well as the ransom amount, causing organisations to face downfall in multiple ends. IARM is an Information security company specialising in Ransomware recovery services. Consult IARM for more information on recovery services.

Also read: Top 5 Cybersecurity Predictions for 2023

Cloud Attacks

Cyber attack on a Cloud computing system with malware or malicious code is called a cloud attack. Typically Cyber attackers inject a malicious service into the cloud to create malicious service implementation modules or virtual machine instances that could be related to SaaS, PaaS or IaaS. Cloud service providers with Open cloud based systems, Virtual machines, storage buckets and containers are much vulnerable to cloud attacks.

DDoS attack, Hypervisor DoS, Hypercall Attacks, and Exploiting Live migration of virtual machines or applications are the most common form of attacks cyber criminal launches on Cloud based organisations. 

With swarming of thousands and thousands of botnets flooding the network creating a malicious traffic to slow down the network, Hyper Calling the network pretending to be a guest and exploits the organisations' Virtual machines or HyperJacking with a rootkit, Cyber attackers breaches and loot strategic and sensitive information. 

As a preventive measure, Cyber Security Audit, which can identify most of the safety issues and vulnerability Assessment can be conducted periodically in order to maintain the cloud fortified.

Also read: Why Is A Vulnerability Assessment Critical For Your Business?

Critical Infrastructure Attacks

Critical Infrastructures are installations that provide critical services to the market, people and Governments in general to perform day to day works smoothly. Generally Communications Sector, Commercial Facilities Sector, Critical Manufacturing Sector, Energy Sector, Defense Industrial Base Sector, Healthcare and Public Health Sector, Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector, Transportation Systems Sector, Information Technology Sector And especially Financial Service sector.

One thing common between all these sectors is, DIGITALISATION of whole or partial operations. Ranging from Power grids to Nuclear reactors, every step of operations are digitised and it can be leveraged as Achilles heel by vested interestOne thing If one sector falls under an attack, the whole industry and in the worst case the whole country could easily become standstill. It is imperative to implement Cyber Security services for prevention of such attacks.

Critical Infrastructures usually possess unique vulnerabilities and security needs. So are Cyber attacks. Instead of attacking the data servers, Usually cyber attackers target the control system of the critical installation and attack the supply chain. 

These attacks on private infrastructures usually end up with ransom demands. But on Government installations, these attacks can easily escalate into a full blown cyberwar between state and non- state actors. 

Phishing or Deep Fake Enabled Business Compromise

Phishing is literally fishing data and information with a bait by leveraging ignorance of the to be victim. Scammers usually target the organisation through phishing emails in an attempt to gain access to sensitive data.

Email with a malicious link and a click bait message is sent by the scammers to employees. Once the link is clicked, malicious software specifically designed to clone access points, can create access of sensitive data to the scammers. Spear phishing, Whaling, Smishing are some most commonly used techniques that organisations should be aware of.

Along with Cyber security services, Awareness among the employees about white listed and black listed apks and websites links in order to minimise the probability of Phishing emails getting opened.

Deep fake technologies are sophisticated and advanced forms of Phishing. These Cyber attacks use deep fake technologies with artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to generate realistic-looking images, videos, or audio recordings of individuals. With a newly created identity. 

Fake technologies impersonate themselves as a legitimate individual or entity and gain access to sensitive information and resources. As the fake entities are created by specialties AI and ML, even highly trained professionals fall short in identifying the malicious intent.

In layman’s term, Deep fake technologies are sophisticated burglars that can potentially engineer its own access in the to network and steal the whole set of sensitive data. Usually Start ups fall prey to this attack.

Also read: Cyber Security For Startups

API Ecosystem

Maximum utilisation of Applications can be witnessed in the Service sector in order to connect with customers, providing end to end services, collecting feedback and also to communicate with inter departments of any organisation.

Cyber attackers utilise Application Program Interface  ecosystem as entry points in order to infiltrate the network for sensitive data exploitation. Probability of an API ecosystem attack is directly proportional to the number of intermediate and end users of Applications.

As the entry points from across the globe and numerous in count, Once attackers enter the API ecosystem, tracking the malicious program, Bots or rootkit is significantly low even by trained experts. 

Also read: Why Is Third Party Risk Management Important?

Global village is the accurate nomenclature to describe today's digital world. Collective work is generally strength, but in case, security can easily be a domino effect of failures. Cyberattacks on a Tech company in Silicon Valley can directly affect employees in a Bangalore based company.

A non-state sponsored cyberterrorist from whichever corner of the world can attack and paralyse the whole Railway infrastructure. Each and every sector of the global market and governments of the world are interlinked with the unicorn thread of Digitization, Information Technology and automation. 

This thread can be mutilated by starting in acute nature, as phishing, to critical infrastructure attacks that could cripple the entire country and its allies can be done with a skilled cyber attacker. 

Whether the organisation is small or large, whether mushroomed startup or an MNC, the only way to secure your company in 2023 is to regularly perform Penetration Testing, Compliance with ISO27001 Compliance Audit Services and AICPA, upgrading firewalls and educating the employees about precautionary measures against social engineering. Be Aware and Be Safe in 2023!!

5 Major Cyber Threats to Food and Agriculture Sector

The food industry has become a popular target for hackers. The reason is that the food industry is a centralized system, with many points of vulnerability. Hackers are targeting these vulnerabilities with the goal of disrupting food supply chains and causing economic damage to the industry.

In order to protect themselves from cyber-attacks, food companies need to take several measures. It is important to be aware that threat actors, including hackers and cybercriminals, may target businesses in the food and agriculture industry. Protect your digital supply chain with cybersecurity hygiene.

A major cyber threat to the food and agriculture sector is the possibility of data extraction. Threat actors may use a variety of tactics to target businesses in the food and agriculture industry, including:

1. Phishing attacks: These are fraudulent emails or messages that attempt to trick the recipient into divulging sensitive information, such as login credentials, or into clicking on a link that downloads malware.
2. Malware: This is malicious software that can infect a computer or network and allow the attacker to gain access to or control over the system.
3. Denial of service (DoS) attacks: These attacks aim to overwhelm a website or network with traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users.
4. Ransomware attacks: These attacks involve the attacker encrypting a victim's data and demanding payment in exchange for the decryption key.
5. Business email compromise (BEC) is a type of cybercrime that involves the attacker gaining access to or control over a victim's email account and using it to send fraudulent messages to the victim's business partners or customers. In the context of the food and agriculture industry, BEC attacks can be used to steal large shipments of food products or ingredients

Food and agricultural businesses are at risk from cybercrime. But you can protect your organization with the right security measures. Join IARM as we explore the best ways to protect your business against these hazards

Here is an example of how a BEC attack might occur:

• The attacker gains access to the email account of an employee at a food or agriculture business, such as a purchasing manager or supply chain coordinator.
• The attacker begins monitoring the employee's emails to learn about the business's operations, supplier relationships, and upcoming shipments.
• The attacker crafts a fraudulent email that appears to be from the employee and sends it to the business's supplier, requesting a large shipment of food products or ingredients to be delivered to a different location than the one that was previously agreed upon.
• The supplier, believing the request to be legitimate, arranges for the shipment to be delivered to the new location.
• The attacker intercepts the shipment and sells the food products or ingredients on the black market.

To protect against BEC attacks, it is important for businesses in the food and agriculture industry to implement robust cybersecurity measures, such as using multi-factor authentication and training employees to be aware of the signs of a BEC attack. It is also important for businesses to verify the authenticity of any requests for changes to shipping addresses or other important details before acting on them. 

IARM, Cyber security company that specializes in the food and agriculture industry. We identify, understand and provide solutions to the risks you face everyday.  Our cybersecurity experts will assess your business and environment to identify vulnerabilities and provide a long-term solution for your IT needs and  protect businesses from the threats of malicious cyberattacks.

 Thanks and Regards,

Priya

Cybersecurity for food and agriculture sector | Industrial Cybersecurity Services