Hackers are leveraging emerging technology to find vulnerabilities in systems once thought impossible to exploit. As a technological renaissance pushes new methods of convenience and optimization, it’s crucial to remain vigilant in a continuously changing setting.
But what are the most common types of cybercrime threatening our security and privacy? And how can you avoid falling victim to these attacks? Explore some of the most prevalent and damaging cyber threats this year and learn some practical tips and leading practices to help safeguard your data and devices.
Phishing and Business Email Compromise
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report, phishing incidents remain the most frequently reported computer crimes. Phishing attempts occur when bad actors impersonate people or third parties, typically through electronic communications.
The goal of this approach is to trick users into sharing personally identifiable information such as full names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. Phishing is generally the leading initial attack vector, responsible for a significant percentage of incidents — subjecting organizations to billions of dollars in losses.
Business Email Compromise is a type of cybercrime where attackers target specific organizations to compromise their email accounts. This method uses familiar email domains to instigate realistic communication between two parties. An email domain that may seem legitimate at first glance is manipulated to intentionally seek critical information.
Defending against phishing and other email attacks requires a multi-faceted approach including technical solutions, user education, and organizational policies. Work with a trusted advisor to develop a robust defense for your organization.
Cloud-based attacks and vendor reliance
A formal policy for vendor management isa critical element in cyber defense. When it comes to alleviating risk, many organizations trust vendors to handle a domain, but fail to understand the security controls involved.
Vendor exploitation is becoming a common occurrence, not only affecting third parties, but also their clients. As convenient as it may be to outsource control domains, the technical specificity of complex processes cannot be thoroughly communicated within contracts.
A tendency to rely too much on vendors is becoming more apparent in our society. Organizations should consider taking more control while educating and empowering their internal cybersecurity teams to apply stronger standards to suit their specific and complex needs.
While vendors are not necessarily harmful for your organization, it’s important to highlight the significance of vendor assessment and oversight when depending on them for critical business function domains.
Establishing decisive response planning
All organizations should establish structured response plans for cyber incidents, including a business continuity plan, disaster recovery plan, and an incident response plan.
Each plan serves a distinct purpose in equipping your organization to handle multiple types of incidents. Formulating response strategies is key to effectively preparing for cybersecurity events by safeguarding assets and reducing vulnerabilities.
Consistent reviews and revisions to these plans can help accurately pinpoint and address deficiencies in your response procedures.
Artificial intelligence is largely ungoverned
Artificial intelligence (AI) remains an unfamiliar frontier for many organizations. This technology is increasingly used across multiple sectors, providing convenience by refining exhaustive business operations traditionally handled by a human workforce.
However, this introduces a dependency on such technology for processing sensitive data. As industries become acquainted with the advantages of AI, adversaries are also discovering potential weaknesses in these systems and the influence they can impose.
As business applications of AI are still being explored, the potential risks and benefits of this technology aren’t fully clear. However, it’s important to be prepared for the possible impacts of adversarial attacks on AI systems. Since there are no official regulations on AI yet, organizations using this emerging technology are operating in a relatively unregulated environment.
Various authorities in the field of AI have proposed recommendations on how to ascertain whether AI is trustworthy, fair, transparent, and accountable. Guidelines like this can help your organization anticipate and mitigate the potential harms of AI, as well as foster public trust and confidence in this technology. Additionally, engaging in dialogue and collaboration with other stakeholders, such as regulators, policymakers, customers, and civil society, can help shape the future of AI governance.
Supply chain weaknesses
Modern supply chains are complex and interconnected, involving many parties. This complexity increases the number of entry points for cyberattacks and makes it harder to secure the network. What due diligence is your organization performing to promote confidentiality, integrity, and availability throughout the entire supply chain process?
Being mindful of supply chain processes can help organizations remain secure. Due diligence must be performed — not just to directly leveraged vendors, but through the entire matrix of associated businesses to account for any dependencies deemed at fault.
Safeguarding against these weaknesses requires a comprehensive and collaborative approach between organizations and vendors, including thorough vetting of suppliers, ongoing monitoring, and frequent assessments. Adopting these measures can help your organization build a resilient supply chain better equipped to withstand and recover from cyber threats.
How CLA can help with modern cybersecurity
Enhance the security of your systems and data through an effective cybersecurity strategy. CLA’s cybersecurity team has years of experience performing IT risk assessments, controls reviews, and custom cybersecurity testing. Please reach out for help assessing and mitigating your risk for a cyber-attack. For more information, contact Sequoy Young-Garcia at sequoy.young-garcia@CLAconnect.com or Isabella Tufaro at isabella.tufaro@CLAconnect.com.
The information contained herein is general in nature and is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal, accounting, investment, or tax advice or opinion provided by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) to the reader. For more information, visit CLAconnect.com.
CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through our industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) is an independent network member of CLA Global. See CLAglobal.com/disclaimer. Investment advisory services are offered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor.