Technology has been changing the way we live, very rapidly. From communication to the way we work.
The COVID pandemic arrived and further accelerated the process, bringing with it, among other things, a need for change in the way work is carried out, forcing many companies to adapt to the new reality. remote work. This need generated a demand for data sharing with third partiesThis has shifted digital exchanges from office networks to home networks – which have a wider variety of connected devices with less protection against intrusions – considerably increasing the risks for the data privacy.
Carolina Klint, Risk Management Leader, Continental Europe at Marsh, said: “As companies recover from the pandemic, they are sharpening their focus on organizational resilience and ESG credentials. With cyber threats now growing faster than our ability to permanently eradicate them, it is clear that neither resilience nor governance is possible without sophisticated and reliable cyber risk management plans. Similarly, organizations need to begin to understand their space risks, especially the risk to satellites, on which we are becoming increasingly dependent given rising geopolitical ambitions and tensions.”
Cybersecurity risks are only increasing.
In 2020, Malware and ransomware attacks increased by 358% and 435%, respectively. respectively, and the factors that most contributed to this scenario were: fewer barriers to entry for hackers, and increasingly aggressive and sophisticated hacking methods. lack of good cybersecurity professionals and defense mechanisms adapted to haste.
In parallel, the use of various technologies working together – including artificial intelligence (AI), IoT (Internet of Things), the Internet of Robotic Things-enabled devices, on-board computing, blockchain, and 5G – has grown considerably, and although these tools have the ability to greatly facilitate work and increase its efficiency, they also cause greater vulnerability to cyber risks.
Metaverse and the rich for cybersecurity
Joining an internet based on Blockchain-based solution is growing, and one of the manifestations of migration to this scenario consists of metaverse universe, where users will be exposed to a browsing experience of greater risk to privacy, due to decentralization and lack of structured safeguards.
According to the report, in December 2021, a week after the discovery of a serious security flaw in a widely used software library, More than 100 attempts to exploit this security flaw were detected per minute., demonstrating how open-access coding can exponentially increase a system's vulnerability.
With the increase in adherence to cryptocurrenciesCybercrime has benefited because the decentralization of currency facilitates payments to cybercriminals. who receive payments with a low risk of detection or monetary restitution, thus reducing the chances of extradition, prosecution, or sanctions.
The report also pointed out that respondents to the Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) They ranked "cybersecurity failure" among the top 10 risks that have worsened the most since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.because the invaders took advantage of the world's distraction with the peaks of outbreaks of coronavirus and natural disasters, to access more confidential and higher-quality information from the victims. Furthermore, the "deepfake" technology It is allowing invaders to improve their social engineering maneuvers, spread misinformation, wreak havoc on society, and instigate chaos.
The emergence of the metaverse universe may also expand the number of hacker attacks, creating more entry points for malware and data breaches, because as the value of commerce in the metaverse grows – according to some estimates projected at over US$800 billion by 2024 – this type of attack tends to grow in frequency and in an increasingly aggressive manner, with criminals attracted by the various forms of digital property, such as NFT art collections and digital real estate.
Conclusion of the report
It is interesting to examine recurring examples of previous cyberattacks, as these cases show how damaging attacks can be to systems such as banks, hospitals, GPS, or air traffic control systems.
Extra caution must be paid to "deepfakes," which, due to their fraudulent nature, have the potential to influence elections, political outcomes, manipulate public opinion in favor of clients, whether public or private, and harm competitors.
A Anxiety tends to increase considerably.as the population suffers from the deterioration of control over their data and vulnerability to personal attacks and fraud, cyberbullying And online harassment, which is only increasing.
Governments will face increasingly greater challenges. mainly due to a lack of public trust, and privacy issuesThese issues tend to reinforce tensions with the governments of other countries if a jointly devised solution is not found.
Unless effective initiatives from governments and businesses aim to improve digital trust, the foundations of a just and trusting society are likely to be lost in a scenario that is increasingly favorable and vulnerable to the malicious actions of those who have nothing to lose.
