7 CYBERSECURITY THREATS FOR 2021

2020 came with many unexpected changes that few people will forget. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the dependence of companies on technology to continue working has increased exponentially. With these new digital trends on the rise, new cybersecurity threats have also grown and appeared. Unfortunately, many of them will continue to be present in 2021.

Cybercrime Trends for 2021

The goal of cybercrime is to make money. There are different ways to achieve this through the use of computer systems and technology. It is important that companies establish computer security protocols to avoid monetary or reputational losses.

At EALDE Business School we have compiled the 7 cybersecurity threats that will appear during the year 2021:

1. Ransomware

It is a hijacking of information by malicious software that encrypts the content of a drive or hard disk. In this computer attack, the user receives an alert message asking for a ransom in order to recover his "hijacked" information. Normally, payment with cryptocurrency is requested, to eliminate any trace that can be investigated.

This type of cyber attack has been in operation for years, attacking mainly companies. With changes in the encryption algorithms, being increasingly complicated, Ransomware grows and is difficult to combat. According to the company Panda Cloud Antivirus, it is estimated that by 2021, it is possible to reach 6 billion dollars in data rescues.

2. Threats associated with remote work

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, teleworking has become part of the day to day. This new trend carries certain risks and there is more exposure to cybercriminals. Having computers in the home may have other family members, such as a partner or children, who can use them. If other individuals use computers, leaks of confidential information may occur.

For this reason, it is very important that companies take the necessary measures to be able to avoid these types of risks that, in many cases, are “careless”.  

3. Business Email Compromise (BEC)

With more employees working from home, email communication has grown exponentially. Taking advantage of this situation, many cybercriminals have seen the opportunity to be able to impersonate other colleagues, suppliers or managers.

One of the examples we have with the so-called “CEO fraud”. The cybercriminal sends an email to a worker, asking for bank transfers, passwords or confidential documents. The recipient of the e-mail sees that the sender is known and ends up doing the favor. When this occurs, the consequences can be extremely serious for the company.

4. Deep fakes

It consists of creating a video by substituting one person's face for another . With the use of artificial intelligence and video editing programs, it is possible to change the face and modulate the voice. With Deepfake you get really realistic results.

Nowadays, the realization of videos with face change is increasingly easier through applications and digital tools. Many people use it for fun, but there are cybercriminals who use it to spoof identities.

5. Internal threats within the company

Some of the insider threats are viruses with which employees themselves can infect company computers. It may be careless or on purpose. For example, using the same computer at home and at work can happen unintentionally. There are also cases of employees who are going to be fired or no longer have work and can still access the databases. In case they want revenge, it is as easy as destroying information, stealing it or infecting computers.

6. Legal remedies for illegal actions

When the servers used for SPAM or sending malware have been used many times, they are blacklisted. In order to continue committing crimes, the security systems of the servers of companies that are not banned are violated. Once access is obtained, they will be used to make money transfers, send fraudulent emails, etc.

7. Data junkies

There are people who steal and store data and then sell it. For example: contact lists, emails, passwords, etc. To carry out a robbery it is usually done using malware that is practically impossible to see quickly.

Master in Cybersecurity and Digital Risks

The most important Cybersecurity threats are addressed in the Master in Cybersecurity and Digital Risks at EALDE Business School. It is an online master that combines the essential concepts for risk management in technologies such as Big Data, Fintech or Mobile. The program is aimed at both systems engineers and risk managers seeking greater specialization.