As the trailblazer in global digital transformation efforts, it’s unsurprising that the tech industry faces some of the most sophisticated and impactful cybersecurity challenges. If anything, recent technological developments are speeding up the already rapid and diverse evolution of threats targeting tech.
Though they’re not the only ones to take responsibility, the IT team at a tech company is mostly responsible for keeping the company safe. With that in mind, their main task is to keep up with the latest advances in cybercrime and develop effective protections against them.
Take a look at six phenomena that are already reshaping the threat landscape targeting IT teams and how to neutralize them.
1. AI-Assisted Phishing Campaigns
Making ChatGPT available to the public did a lot of good. But it also caused a jaw-dropping 40% increase in the volume of phishing emails. Worse yet, these emails now read much more naturally than before ChatGPT was a thing.
This new era of well-written and legitimate-looking emails tricks more people into clicking on the accompanying links or attachments and either downloading malware or exposing their credentials and personal info. Moreover, anyone without moral principles can whip up a convincing email now without having to master the recipient’s language.
IT should combat this threat on two fronts. From a technological standpoint, they can reduce phishing effectiveness by employing AI-powered recognition and filtration tools alongside next-gen firewalls that block access to known malicious sites. However, such measures are only effective if accompanied by training that teaches employees how to recognize and report these and other emerging threats.
2. Ransomware as a Service (RaaS)
While ransomware is a cyberattack staple, the business model that recently developed around its spread is a new concern. Hackers have created a SaaS-like business model where dedicated groups of cybercriminals develop and sell ransomware to affiliate customers who then carry out attacks. RaaS has most of the trappings of the SaaS model: ready-made kits, monthly subscriptions, and even tech support.
RaaS is trickier to combat and track down since their creators and users differ. The former can now concentrate exclusively on ransomware development, improving complexity and resilience.
To combat these attacks, creating multiple secure backups and encrypting crucial data remains effective, as does network segmentation.
3. Deepfake Social Engineering Scams
As voice, image, and video generation tools continue to improve at a remarkable pace, the uncanny threats posed by deepfake scams are becoming all too real. The attackers employing this method don’t discriminate, as targets range from concerned family members to employees who think they’re talking to their company’s C-suite.
Independent identity verification can expose even the most sophisticated deepfakes. If you suspect a deepfake, ask the other person detailed questions only they would know or contact them via different means to rule out deception.
4. Supply Chain Attacks
Businesses with sophisticated cyber defenses still need to deal with third-party vendors and services whose cybersecurity posture they can’t control. Attackers use this as an opportunity for indirect attack, compromising third-party software or code dependency within it to gain unauthorized access or introduce malware into your systems.
Every new tool and service must be vetted before implementation to ensure regulatory compliance and high cybersecurity standards. Also, limit access to your core infrastructure via zero-trust principles and actively monitor third-party tools for unusual behavior.
5. Evolving Insider Threats
A range of motivations and increased tool availability mean more insiders are able and willing to damage employers’ resources and reputations. For example, remote employees aren’t confined to the carefully monitored office, which makes it easier to access and exfiltrate sensitive data undetected.
Money remains a powerful motivator for committing such actions. However, employees are also more likely to become threats for ideological reasons if they disagree and want to expose harmful or unethical practices.
Robust access management is the best deterrent to this threat. Enforcing it with a password manager for IT teams is beneficial in several ways: it ensures centralized password control, granular access permissions, audit trails, secure credential sharing, and automatic password rotation.
Essentially, such a tool not only improves security by enforcing best practices but also streamlines access control. This facilitates the protection of critical data and lowers the possibility of insider attacks.
6. Advanced Persistent Threats via Cloud Infrastructure
Advanced persistent threats are among the most serious and sophisticated threats companies face today. They’re resource-intensive and require long-term preparation, meaning only the most sophisticated hacker collectives and nation-states carry them out. Understandably, they target large corporations and government organizations.
Such attacks increasingly exploit cloud infrastructure misconfiguration and use the cloud environment to escalate privileges.
IT teams must implement cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools to mitigate the threat. CSPMs detect and correct misconfigured cloud services while drawing attention to suspect activities. Combined with role-based access controls, they ensure faster attacker detection and limit their lateral movement.
Conclusion
Cyber threats targeting the tech industry are becoming more sophisticated and severe. This mandates companies and their IT teams to monitor their security and take quick action when necessary.
To keep important files and data safe, IT teams should prioritize implementing the best business password managers for strong access management, along with employee training, safe backups, and advanced tracking tools. By keeping up with new threats and taking the right steps to defend themselves, tech companies can improve their security and keep their digital systems safe in this rapidly changing world.
