Cyber Predictions 21
January 15th, 2021 by admin
With 2020 in the rear-view mirror, I was so focused on leaving that dumpster-fire-of-a-year in the dust that I wasn't paying attention to the road and crashed into yet another dumpster fire called "2021". Unfortunately, our problems will not stop just because 2020 ended. With the debut of the Sunburst hack on our Government to kick off the New Year, we at Equinox are confident that this will not be the last cyberattack we see this year. In fact, we have a few more predictions for you, so that like us, you can be prepared for what's coming this year.
-Deepfakes and A.I.
NVIDIA's new A.I. video call software is an extraordinary breakthrough in face creation, tracking, and generation. Their product can make an animated, yet extremely realistic face of you, or anyone else on a video call. All you need is a reference photo. The application is useful, it will create your face for you on a video call without streaming your camera in the call, saving bandwidth. It uses Artificial Intelligence, to constantly improve the picture and make the image realer and realer with each use.
Prediction: It will be used for a host of things, including cyberattacks. They'll use the software to create perfect fakes of people you know and trust, who will "call you" using a voice changer and ask you for passwords or other private information.
Don't believe me? Just look at what Obama has to say.
-Hacking From Home
Why hit Grandma Jenkins with ransomware (who won't understand you through the phone and has $30 in her checking account) when you could hit a million dollar enterprise? This was the mindset of the hacking industry just a few years ago. But not only did COVID-19 ruin my summer plans and my scheduled trip to the see the Capitol (too soon?), but it also set up the best way for a hacker to gain access to a company's network. You.
Prediction: Hackers will specifically target home computers that are used for work to access company networks.
-Sponsored Cyberattack
I promise I was going to include this part even before the Sunburst hack, but Sunburst only proves my predictions are infallible (don't quote me on that).
Kaspersky warns cyber-terrorism by international sponsors will increase, meaning that this is only the beginning. Some speculate we've long been in a Cyber Cold War of sorts, except it's not really a war because everyone is attacking us and we aren't doing anything about it. So it's just like a bunch of people kicking someone on the ground who won't fight back. There isn't really a good way to explain how dangerous the Sunburst attack could be, but it shows that devastating attacks that steal tons of confidential data aren't too hard to pull off.
Prediction: There will be lots of "Sunburst's" targeting the USA this year.
-Healthcare remains the primary target of all ransomware
Healthcare pretty much has a giant bullseye on its back in the hacking industry. If a hospital cannot access patient records, the patient could possibly die. A hospital cannot lose its patient records to a ransomware attack. So of course hackers are targeting healthcare!
Lucky for you (if you're in healthcare), we tend to specialize in meeting health providers IT needs, since the majority of our clients are in the health industry. We know a thing or two, because we've seen a thing or two (I hope Farmers Insurance doesn't come after me for that)
Prediction: Healthcare keeps getting outsmarted by hackers, until they beef up their security big-time.
-Dollars for Defense
Most businesses will soon realize it is sink or swim in the Cyber world. You will either be attacked by ransomware and most likely go out of business, or spend the money and time to get your business the protection it needs. The third option is to start your own cyberattack hacking company, but we strongly recommend against that.
55% of Executives plan on increasing cybersecurity budgets to meet the modern corporate needs: more protection and better defense.
Prediction: Millions of dollars are poured into cybersecurity, making basic antivirus an easy target.
As Technology develops and grows, so do the risks. When we incorporate technology into products to improve them, we are opening the door for hackers to target them. That means there are more and more things each year that need protection and monitoring. My unofficial prediction is that smart cars will soon be hacked as well, since technology opens the door for hackers to hack things that once were unhackable.
Stay alert, update your computer, and for more detailed and data-sourced predictions, visit our partners at watchguard.com/predictions to learn what a leading Firewall company expects from 2021.
Posted in: News, Technology