How has evolving technology changed cybersecurity?
Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and so is the rate at which cyber crimes are committed. It is just like how, for every new lock, there is someone out there thinking of a new way to pick it. Cybercriminals keep finding new ways to hack, even as technologists scramble to fix the previous loses. Such is the importance of cybersecurity in this digital age that it has learned to evolve with technology, albeit the hard way. Luckily, as technology advances so is the ability to predict cyber-attacks and weed out cybersecurity threats. Here is a list of 5 technologies that have changed cybersecurity.
Corporate Security Breaches
There is a common saying in ethical hacking- “It only takes an employee to open one phishing email to bring the whole corporate security down”. It is not a shocker, therefore, when we say that most of the corporate security breaches are a result of hackers exploiting employees through social engineering and scams.
Hackers are becoming only more and more adept at finding breaches and backdoors in corporate security systems, more so with the advancement of digital technology, leaving no data to be really secure.
Identity Fraud
Social media has evolved so much and has made itself a part and parcel of people’s everyday lives that the security concerns revolving around it have gone into the shadows. In fact, they are the biggest threat to online security, what with the sheer amount of information an average user shares online.
It has become the breeding ground for Cybercriminals, who are increasingly using this data to engage in identity theft schemes, stealing personal email accounts, work email accounts and banking information.
Mobile security
As new mobile technology emerges every day, so are mobile cybersecurity threats. Again, it is a case of hacking personal data. At the pace in which mobile technology and usage are growing, there is little chance that cybersecurity could keep up. Hence, for every new phone, tablet or smart device a person buys, more is the opportunity for a cyber-criminal to hack into. As mobile devices can universally plug into any port for sharing, malware issues are just multiplying.
Cloud storage
Digital storage of data is common these days. So more and more companies are shifting to cloud computing to increase efficiency and lower costs involved with maintenance. While this method is a relatively low risk, as individual organizations can skip the complexities of designing their own cybersecurity systems, the onus is on service providers to install certain sophisticated security measures to protect data on the cloud. Anything on a network is hackable!
Hacktivism
Sounds more like vigilantism, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. Hacktivism is hacking for a political or social reason. With the easy availability of technology and the means to enable anyone to learn to hack (in the name of ethical hacking), hacktivism has evolved as a new threat to cybersecurity. This is especially true for large websites and companies. This practice involves bombarding websites with a large number of visitors, accessing information, in order to affect as many people as possible.
