Over these years, every businesses including corporate organizations and even governments are managing their activities on computerized systems following the digital revolution and thus making cyber security an essential objective to protect data from various online attacks including data theft and unauthorized access.
These digital systems automate the processes of how the organizations work and collaborate with each other. New Tech-companies like Uber, Facebook, Tesla and many other companies have made their business-model such that all their business processes and transactions are managed online. A single breach in the system or a short span of downtime can affect revenue generations followed by loss of reputation and hence customers trust. With increasing numbers of data and personnel involved in the whole process, it makes it easier for cyber-criminals to gain unauthorized access to the system.
To safe-guard the systems and company integrity, cyber-security personnel have to work together in complete collaboration to protect critical infrastructure from various types of attacks. As the technology is evolving the attack techniques and methodologies are also evolving at an alarming rate. Following are most common and recent trends in cybersecurity that will be discussed in detail below:
- Automotive hacking
- Integrating AI with cyber security
- Mobile: the new target
- Cloud vulnerability
- Cyber warfare
Rise of Automotive Hacking
With the rise of Industrial Revolution 4.0, Automotive industry is getting automated at a fast pace. All the automobiles made in 21st century have some level of automation based on their functions.
Automotive manufacturers build the primary network that is based on the Controller Area Network (CAN) (Abbot,McCune-2015). These CANs are connected with the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) which controls all the automation happening inside the vehicle. During the time CANs were built, security was not a priority for the manufacturers so it enabled hackers to take control of the steering wheel, breaking system or any other function to disrupt and take control over the victim. Vehicles are also fitted with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options that are vulnerable to the un-patched vulnerabilities. However, fully-autonomous vehicles are being made under strict regulations which prevent the attackers from gaining access.
Integrating AI With Cyber Security
With the ever increasing amount of data being transferred over the internet makes it more complex and time consuming for the cyber-security specialists to detect and mitigate attacks. Combining the strength of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with cybersecurity, security professionals have additional resources to defend vulnerable networks and data from cyber attackers. After applying this technology, it brought instant insights, resulting in reduced response times.
AI can be more effective while combined with Machine Learning (ML) algorithms which makes the system intelligent enough to detect threats based on learning from previous data-sets. With the passage of time the ML algorithm matures itself to reduce false positive results and achieve higher value of accuracy. AI automation will be able to identify recurring attacks or threats, manage insider threats, device management and mitigate before the attack surface broadens.
Cloud is Also Potentially Vulnerable
Cloud computing made it easier to shift IT infrastructure in a cloud environment. Companies can implement cutting edge technologies to meet their information processing needs. Most of the cloud providers including Amazon, Google and Azure have made their own security tools and mechanisms to protect themselves from attacks. Still some of the attackers are able to by-pass the security protocols in place, these attackers are supported by insider threats which help attackers gain initial information about the cloud infrastructure.
State-Sponsored Cyber Warfare
Cyberwarfare is being actively used as an advanced weapon in the IR 4.0, all countries around the world have started spending large amounts of budget to control, mitigate and cyberwarfare rooms in order to be capable of launching an attack. Some countries have collaborated to achieve mutual goals and prevent a large-scale war to be broken out.
A famous example of cyber espionage is the creation of stuxnet malware that was specifically designed and crafted for the systems operating inside the nuclear plants. The malware was successful in achieving its goals. Countries like North Korea actively performs state sponsored cyber attacks on US, Japan and many other countries. (csis.org, 2021)
Next Up With Cyber Security Trends
Organizations are expected to spend over $100+ billion on protecting their assets after the fear of recent cyber security attacks. There is an increasing demand of cyber security professionals as security operations now play a significant part in any organization. Skilled and experienced cybersecurity employees are among the highest-paid professionals in the IT industry. Gearing up your security game and keeping pace with these cyber security trends is the best call today, and we can help.
