The 6 Biggest Cybersecurity Concerns for 2018

If there’s anything you can say about the field of cybersecurity, it’s that it’s growing. By 2019, there will be 6 million new cybersecurity jobs on the market worldwide. This increase is commensurate with the increase in big data, which goes directly with advancements in both the cloud and the IoT. As the world moves closer to 180 zettabytes of data in 2025 (a conservative estimate), Forbes’ Gil Press reports that 2018 will see 5 times higher growth in spending on cloud versus on-premises analytics solutions. The amount of data we’re generating is calling for increased spending on analytics and storage.

There’s no question the cloud will continue to grow (where else will all the data go?), but the amount of IoT advancement is less certain. Victor Vilas, Business Development Manager Europe for AndSoft, says that IP traffic will reach 2 zettabytes per year by 2019. More devices creating more data will create more cybersecurity concerns. But what will the biggest threats be in the burgeoning cybersecurity industry? The cybersecurity analyst who knows how to deal with these is well prepared for 2018.

Unfilled Cybersecurity Jobs

First and foremost, cybersecurity and IT can’t deal with threats properly if there aren’t enough qualified individuals working on detection and prevention. By 2021, 3.5 million positions in cybersecurity will remain unfilled. Steve Morgan, founder and CEO at Cybersecurity Ventures, says we aren’t taking the skills gap seriously enough, and young people aren’t setting off on cybersecurity career paths, which is reflected by the fact that students can graduate from any one of the top 10 US computer science programs without taking a single course on cybersecurity. Furthermore, organizations aren’t cross-training individuals on cybersecurity, and there’s a perception from IT heads that AI will be able to solve the labor shortage.

A New Level of Identity Theft and W-2 Phishing After Equifax

Earlier this year, tax season saw a 400 percent increase in phishing attacks ‘and that was before the Equifax breach. Because of the Equifax breach, hackers now have all the information they need to file fake tax returns for 143 million Americans, including social security numbers, names, addresses, credit card numbers, and income. Before, scammers had to send emails in which they phished for people’s W-2 info. Expect that to continue, but if they have access to the Equifax data, phishing emails will only need to seek out specific info that was not revealed in the Equifax breach. This will make phishing schemes that much more tempting for scammers to carry out.

Cryptojacking

The new kid on the block, cryptojacking uses Javascript on compromised sites to turn your device into cryptocurrency mining machine. Basically, if you’re running pages infected with the script, a hacker uses the site and your computer to mine cryptocurrency, which they then convert into cash. Appearing late in 2017, the scheme has already affected nearly one billion internet users of only four sites, including Openload, a streaming video player. Openload’s player is embedded on various webpages, and when a user accesses the player, the cryptojacking begins. Initially, The Pirate Bay leveraged this technique with the cryptocurrency Monero and was transparent about it as a way of making money from users without running ads. Since then, malicious miners have followed suit, unbeknownst to website owners and users.

Other Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Attacks, Including DDoS

Whatever happened to NiceHash recently, it was effective and resulted in a serious Bitcoin loss of $60 million. The Slovenian Bitcoin mining company is scrambling to revamp security and reimburse users who found their purses empty just before Bitcoin was set to start trading on the US stock exchange at value of $15,000 per bitcoin. There’s no word yet on how NiceHash ‘a company that mines cryptocurrency for nearly 750,000 members ‘was hacked. If the culprits aren’t caught, others will continue to use the same tactic in 2018 because it exploits a vulnerability.

And, after the success of Dyn DDoS attack last year, hackers are using the same tactic to hit the Bitcoin exchange service Bitfinex, which recently experienced its third such attack in 2 months. Clearly, hackers are taking aim at cryptocurrency services and will continue to do so in 2018. Computer Weekly reports that Bitcoin is among the top ten industries targeted by DDoS attacks in the third quarter of 2017.

Worm Malware and Ransomware

The difference between worms and regular old viruses is worms are standalone software. A worm can replicate like a virus, but it doesn’t require a human to send it along. Rather, once a worm infects a system through a vulnerability, it replicates itself throughout the network. This is what we saw with the WannaCry attack, a worm that infected businesses worldwide with ransomware, resulting in a loss of up to $4 billion. Trickbot is also a recent example. Its developers added a worm module, probably due to the success of WannaCry. Because worms only need to exploit a single vulnerability to infect an entire network, hackers will continue to turn to them as part of their arsenal in 2018.

Powershell Attacks

This is a tricky one. Powershell runs on all computers with Windows 7 on up, allowing the OS to execute commands. If hackers can gain access to the OS, they can run malicious Powershell code in the computer’s memory where antivirus software can’t detect it. Carbon Black says Powershell is involved in more than a third of cyberattacks. It’s an easy way for attackers to fly under the radar. There’s no sign of this abating in 2018.