We live in a world where technology surrounds us at every step, becoming so accustomed to it that we don’t even notice its presence anymore. Nearly every aspect of your lives has been impacted by digitalisation and the rapid pace of tech advancements continues to bring new transformations across all industries and sectors, influencing the way we live now and in the future.
In the business realm, disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), or blockchain are challenging traditional business models and introducing new ways of doing things. The latter, for instance, keeps revolutionizing numerous industries as more and more organizations look to Ethereum, the top blockchain for smart contracts and decentralized applications, to streamline their operations while removing the costly third-party from transactions and contract closures. This leads to cost savings, greater efficiency, better decision-making, improved customer experiences, increased productivity and a slew of other benefits that combined can help companies attain their short- and long-term goals.
But the perks of digital transformation are unfortunately overshadowed by the risks that come with it. While technology is neither good nor bad, it can be used for malicious purposes and there are plenty of people whose intentions are not honourable and use tech applications to conduct illegal activities. The same tech tools and solutions that can help businesses thrive can become fearsome weapons in the hands of cybercriminals.
This is precisely why the number of cyberattacks has increased significantly over the past years, reflecting the rising speed of technology adoption. This is also the reason companies in all industries and sectors should focus more than ever on improving their cyber defences and implementing solid security measures. And that starts by becoming aware of the threats that the virtual landscape presents and their impact on organisations.
Smarter Phishing Techniques
The emergence of new technologies is helping cybercriminals get better at their craft. Their methods and strategies are becoming more sophisticated, making it more difficult for their targets to defend themselves. That’s why we’re now facing a new generation of phishing scams powered by AI technology.
Phishing is a form of social engineering attack that has been practised by cybercriminals for ages now. It involves using deceiving emails and text messages to trick the victim into disclosing sensitive information about themselves and it’s made its fair share of damage over the years. However, cybercriminals have realised that this old-school method doesn’t deliver the same results anymore as people have started to catch on to these types of scams, so they’ve found a way to upgrade their phishing techniques with the help of generative AI tools.
Cybercriminals are taking advantage of AI’s growing capabilities to create more realistic, targeted and highly convincing messages, making phishing attacks harder to detect. Deepfake attacks are already on the rise and will continue to pose a challenge to organizations and businesses. This is likely going to prompt more companies to adopt a zero-trust security approach and invest more in cybersecurity awareness.
IoT Cyber Attacks
IoT systems function like a web of interconnected devices that exchange information with each other and the cloud. Almost all forward-thinking organizations have implemented this technology over the past few years. Unfortunately, each device can serve as a point of entry for cybercriminals to penetrate a company’s network.
With more smart devices embedded in IoT systems, increasing their complexity, the risk of cyberattacks grows, as this provides more vulnerabilities for malicious entities to exploit. This represents a major concern for companies with a remote workforce whose employees use unsecured equipment to perform work-related tasks.
The problem is that IoT is getting bigger by the day, but security standards must keep up with its development. Companies need to address these vulnerabilities if they want to enjoy the benefits that IoT systems provide without worrying about the risks.
Smart Contract Risks
Blockchain came into the public eye as the technology underpinning Bitcoin and other digital currencies, and crypto remains to this day its most popular application. However, this innovative technology has experienced a rapid evolution over the years, expanding its use cases across many other industries and areas of activity, well beyond DeFi.
Smart contracts represent the most relevant example in this respect, serving as the foundation of many blockchain use cases today.
They are basically blockchain-based programs that run automatically when certain predetermined conditions specified in an agreement are met. Blockchain technology was thought to be hack-proof at first, but as time revealed, cybercriminals found ways to break into these systems by taking advantage of unprotected wallets, or through stolen recovery phrases and passwords.
It’s not just users’ negligence that makes blockchain-based solutions vulnerable, but the very structure of smart contracts as many of them have flaws in their codes that hackers can exploit. This means businesses can no longer rely on the strength of blockchain technology and have to make a conscious effort to reduce and eliminate the vulnerabilities in smart contracts.
Cloud Cyber Attacks
Data provided by the Ponemon Institute reveals that 82% of the data breaches experienced by the companies included in their study were linked to cloud-based systems. At the same time, companies around the world continue to adopt multi-cloud storage solutions at a rapid pace, with the global cloud computing market expected to double by 2027.
When you put two and two together, the rising risk of cyberattacks based on the growing adoption of cloud solutions becomes obvious.
This should serve as a warning signal for businesses and organisations that are currently using cloud software or plan to do so in the near future, to ramp up their security measures to protect their data.
Endnote
While these seem to be the most widespread threats at the moment, it’s important to keep in mind that the digital world hides many other risks and hazards. With cyberattacks running rampant all over the world, no company is truly immune to the dangers posed by digitalisation. Therefore, investing in cybersecurity should become a top priority for all businesses, regardless of size or industry.
