With more than 55 per cent of the world having access to the internet, cyber security is becoming the cornerstone of information technology (IT) infrastructure. Demand for innovative IT security solutions has increased sharply as cyberattacks from a multitude of sources rise. Reports show that Internet of Things (IoT) devices are one of the prime targets of such attacks.
Economic loss from these instances can be staggering for corporates. For instance, a Frost & Sullivan study commissioned by Microsoft reveals that a large-sized organisation in India incurs an average economic loss of $10.3 million from cyberattacks whereas a mid-sized organisation incurs an average loss of $11,000. Such attacks have also resulted in job losses across different functions in more than three out of five (64%) organisations that have experienced an incident.
“With traditional IT boundaries disappearing, the adversaries now have many new targets to attack. Companies face the risk of significant financial loss, damage to customer satisfaction and market reputation,” noted Keshav Dhakad, Group Head & Assistant General Counsel, Corporate, External & Legal Affairs , Microsoft India.
Sandip Panda, CEO, Instasafe says that the with emergence of IoT, the avenues of attack have increased. “These are mimicking real world adoption of AI and machine learning techniques… 2018 also saw a growth in state sponsored attacks on critical infrastructure, data and IoT attacks,” he added.
Cyber security company McAfee saw an average of 480 new cyber threats per minute in the third quarter of 2018 and a 73 per cent growth in malware attacking IoT devices during the third quarter of this year.
The report also finds that malware using computers to mine cryptocurrency have exploded in number. New coin mining malware grew nearly 55 per cent, with total malware growing 4,467 per cent over the last four quarters. 44 per cent of all publicly disclosed security incidents took place in the America, followed by 17 per cent in Europe and 13 per cent in Asia-Pacific.
Cybersecurity solutions provider Trend Micro predicts in its report that 2019 will see attackers increase the effectiveness of proven attack methods by adding more sophisticated elements to take advantage of the changing technology landscape. Attackers are also expected to implement emerging technologies like AI to better anticipate the movements of executives, leading to more convincingly targeted phishing messages. Panda says that organisations will need to change traditional methods of protection. “Data being central to the attacks, innovative ways to protect it from outsiders will be one of the key trends that will emerge stronger”.
$10.3 mn
loss on average to large-sized firms in India from cyber attacks
73%
growth in malware attacking IoT devices
55%
growth in new cryptocurrency mining malware, with total malware growing 4,467 per cent over the last four quarters
Zero-trust networks
Zero trust network security that hides your assets will enable private networks to remain invisible from any unauthorised users by pre-authentication. Simply put, these will deny all access requests and allow access only by authorisation