Business owners need to be careful. 2023 is shaping up to be a dangerous year on the cybersecurity front. Threats are emerging from every angle, be it governments, disgruntled consumers, and organized hacker groups, looking to extract money.
Risk 1: Third-Party Risk
Businesses are increasingly outsourcing their IT requirements to third parties. And, for many reasons, that’s a good thing. Firms enjoy lower costs, quicker updates, and faster services.
However, this move comes with significant risks. Third-party web hosts and server providers, for instance, are themselves at risk from other third parties. They may represent “bigger fish” because of the fact they host so much valuable data. They may also be higher profile, perhaps because they are a big brand name, like Amazon AWS or Azure.
Risk 2: AI Will Make Things Worse
AI technologies may assist hackers by helping them find holes in brands’ defenses. That’s why agencies, like PostMogul, offer so many expert tips and analysis articles. Artificial intelligence has the potential to circumvent even the most carefully laid plans, bringing websites down.
Risk 3: Constant Threat
When cybersecurity issues ramped up in 2019, some experts thought it would be temporary. Unfortunately, the situation continued to worsen from 2020 to 2022. Now the prediction for 2023 is that the current situation is the new normal and firms simply need to adapt to this reality.
All business areas should have an agile strategy to deal with this threat. Firms need to join up various pieces of the security pie, instead of focusing exclusively on network permissions and anti-virus software. They must observe the entire “attack surface” and defend every point of exposure.
Risk 4: Insider Threats
Insider threats are another major issue for firms in 2023. Thanks to movements like the “great resignation” and “quiet quitting,” more disgruntled workers occupy senior positions in the workforce than ever before.
Evidence suggests that around 25 percent of all cyber attacks come from within firms. This year, companies are going to have to come to terms with this reality and treat their staff differently. Things like setting strict permissions and only giving a few trusted people access to your network are the best strategies. You may also want to use behavior tracking, a technology that lets you predict when a breach is more likely, based on an observed pattern.
Risk 5: Storage Issues
The fifth risk is storage issues. Businesses typically assume that once their data is in the cloud, it’s secure.
However, that’s not always the case. Some cloud providers don’t back up their data to reduce costs. And others lack proper security arrangements to keep would-be data thieves out.
Therefore, companies should invest in the proper encryption, end-to-end. They should also encourage employees to keep strong passwords, containing at least nine characters with upper and lower-case letters, symbols, and numbers.
Risk 6: Zero-Day Attacks
Lastly, firms are likely to face more zero-day attacks in 2023. These are particularly dangerous because attackers are usually the only ones who know about the vulnerability.
The best way to protect against these is to limit service upon release and then wait for a breach. If there is one, you can resolve it quickly without damaging your brand.
Matt Hoffer is a crypto enthusiast and gamer. When he's not de-constructing the blockchain, you can find him chilling with some lemonade in the shade or playing a round of golf.