Cyber attacks are a growing threat for business across all industries, and they’ve only been accelerated by the COVD-19 pandemic. 2021 has shown an increase in cybercriminals taking advantage of the technological changes many organizations have undergone as a result of COVID-19, which have created new vulnerabilities in security systems. Data shows that shifting to a remote workforce has increased the cost of a data breach by $137,000.
To better understand the emerging cybersecurity threats businesses are facing today, here are some of the top trends of 2021.
Malware
Malware refers to any type of software intentionally designed to damage a computer or network, ultimately for the purpose of stealing personal or confidential data. This type of threat is on the rise—there’s been a 24% increase in the amount of data breaches caused by malicious attacks since 2014. Additionally, 53% of malicious data breaches were financially motivated in 2020.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that steals company data and restricts access to it until a ransom is paid. Ransomware attacks are one of the most common threats to organization’s security, and it will continue to evolve in sophistication as technology advances. Ransomware attacks cost more than the average data breach seen in 2020, costing companies $4.44 million on average.
Phishing
Phishing attacks exploit email or malicious websites to infect devices with malware designed to steal data. Phishing emails are made to look as though they were sent from a legitimate source or known coworker, luring victims to open maliciously coded attachments or be directed to a fake log-in page where their credentials can be stolen. These types of attacks have been through the roof during COVID-19, and 14% of malicious data breaches in 2020 were caused by phishing.
These are just a few examples of the trends that pose the most threat to businesses today. Assessing these risk factors can provide insight into where your organization might have vulnerabilities in security defenses, and in turn how you may need to enhance your security measures to prevent future attacks. For a deeper dive into these trends and what steps you can take to prevent them, check out the visual below.
Please include attribution to pandasecurity.com with this graphic.
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