QUESTION 7: POE
DIGITAL SECURITY
From identity
theft and fraud to corporate hacking attacks, cyber security has never been
more important for businesses, organizations and governments.
Hacking experts warn there are plenty more security risks ahead in 2017 as cyber criminals become more sophisticated. While "traditional" cybercrime such as internet password fraud will still be widespread in 2016, larger scale espionage attacks and hacking the Internet of Things (IoT) will also be risks.
Beware: ransom ware
Ransom ware - a type of malware which restricts access to the computer system that it infects –will become increasingly sophisticated in its methods and targets, experts at McAfee Labs warned.
"We predict ransom ware variants that manage to evade security software installed on a system will specifically target endpoints that subscribe to cloud-based storage solutions such as Dropbox, Google Drive. Once the endpoint has been infected, the ransom ware will attempt to exploit the logged-on user's stored credentials to also infect backed-up cloud storage data," McAfee's report on 2015 cyber risks noted.
"Ransom ware victims will be in for a rude shock when they attempt to access their cloud storage to restore data—only to find their backups have also been encrypted by the ransom ware," the experts said.
More worryingly, ransom ware attackers will find as many ways as possible to extract ransom payments from victims to release their encrypted data, McAfee warned.
The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things – the connection of physical devices such as home appliances and cars to the internet -- will still be the "Internet of Vulnerabilities," according to cyber experts.
"The IoT will be integrated into every market you can think of – from healthcare to the energy industry and transport network but it hasn't been designed with security in mind. There are millions of hackers out there that could compromise these interconnected systems. We have sacrificed security for efficiency"
Cyber-espionage
Cyber espionage is becoming the weapon of choice for many national governments – no matter how tight-lipped they may be about any involvement in such activities to undermine their enemies. The stealing of financial information is nothing new, with stolen credit or debit card data on the black market a well-established and lucrative business for cyber criminals.
But as new ways of paying for goods, such as contactless and mobile payments, become the norm for European and African consumers, there's a new opportunity for hackers – particularly if retailers don't store payment data securely
Hacking experts warn there are plenty more security risks ahead in 2017 as cyber criminals become more sophisticated. While "traditional" cybercrime such as internet password fraud will still be widespread in 2016, larger scale espionage attacks and hacking the Internet of Things (IoT) will also be risks.
Beware: ransom ware
Ransom ware - a type of malware which restricts access to the computer system that it infects –will become increasingly sophisticated in its methods and targets, experts at McAfee Labs warned.
"We predict ransom ware variants that manage to evade security software installed on a system will specifically target endpoints that subscribe to cloud-based storage solutions such as Dropbox, Google Drive. Once the endpoint has been infected, the ransom ware will attempt to exploit the logged-on user's stored credentials to also infect backed-up cloud storage data," McAfee's report on 2015 cyber risks noted.
"Ransom ware victims will be in for a rude shock when they attempt to access their cloud storage to restore data—only to find their backups have also been encrypted by the ransom ware," the experts said.
More worryingly, ransom ware attackers will find as many ways as possible to extract ransom payments from victims to release their encrypted data, McAfee warned.
The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things – the connection of physical devices such as home appliances and cars to the internet -- will still be the "Internet of Vulnerabilities," according to cyber experts.
"The IoT will be integrated into every market you can think of – from healthcare to the energy industry and transport network but it hasn't been designed with security in mind. There are millions of hackers out there that could compromise these interconnected systems. We have sacrificed security for efficiency"
Cyber-espionage
Cyber espionage is becoming the weapon of choice for many national governments – no matter how tight-lipped they may be about any involvement in such activities to undermine their enemies. The stealing of financial information is nothing new, with stolen credit or debit card data on the black market a well-established and lucrative business for cyber criminals.
But as new ways of paying for goods, such as contactless and mobile payments, become the norm for European and African consumers, there's a new opportunity for hackers – particularly if retailers don't store payment data securely
Insecure Passwords
Easy-to-crack passwords will continue to be a big risk in 2016, analysts said. "Weaknesses of passwords are known, but still lead to many of the high-profile attacks such as the recent I Cloud attack.”2016 is likely to be the first year when the password starts to be phased out in favour of a number of different multi-factor options. Next year may well be the first year of multi-factor by default," Digital Shadows, a cyber-threat intelligence company, told CNBC. The mechanisms for password recovery are flawed," John added. "The traditional method of password recovery is asking questions that only you, the real owner, should know. Unfortunately, answers to these questions often can be deduced based on information that can easily be found online -- especially given people's proclivity for "over-sharing" on social media sites."
An overview
of how this can be avoided
The tips
below provide basic information on how you can prevent online fraud.
- Keep your computer current with the latest patches and updates.
- Make sure your computer is configured securely.
- Choose strong passwords and keep them safe.
- Protect your computer with security software.
- Protect your personal information.
6. Don't allow others to access your
password protected sites without you being present.
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