Cybercrime has evolved dramatically since the early days of the internet. Improvements in cybersecurity have made it much more difficult for criminals to crack passwords or scam people with simple emails. As a result, cybercriminals have had to find more elaborate and unusual ways to target victims. This typically involves taking advantage of new technologies and focusing on new targets.
What can we expect the future of cybercrime to look like? While it’s impossible to accurately predict what the future will be like, a few current cybercrime trends can give us a fairly good idea of what to expect. Below are just some of the growing cyberthreats that could be important to protect yourself against in the future.
AI attacks
Artificial intelligence (AI) is both one of the most exciting and scary technologies to be developed in recent years. AI can already beat world champions at chess, create convincingly realistic photographs and write entire novels in the style of other authors. Because of this, it is probably one of the biggest threats to security in the future. Cybercriminals have already found ways to replicate people’s voices using AI to convincingly scam call people, as well as launching mass automated network attacks. Fortunately, cybersecurity companies are using AI to fight back. Can they stay ahead?
IoT hacking
More of us are likely to use Internet of Things (IoT) technology in the future. This includes various ‘smart’ home devices like smart TVs, smart heating, smart lighting and even smart kettles. Most cars also now come with their own wi-fi connection, while entire sections of urban infrastructure like traffic lights and trains are likely to one day be controlled remotely via the internet. Anything that is connected to the internet can potentially be hacked and so businesses and organizations will have to be careful when investing in IoT technology in order to ensure that it is secure.
Crypto scams
A growth in the use of cryptocurrency has encouraged more hackers to explore crypto scams. This includes using phishing tactics to try to get individuals to share their private crypto wallet keys. Unlike traditional money, cryptocurrency is unregulated, and so scams are much harder to prevent. Crypto users should therefore be very cautious when revealing sensitive information or paying people via crypto.
Small business ransomware
Ransomware attacks involve holding a computer system hostage – sometimes threatening to permanently encrypt or delete all data unless a ransom is paid. Traditionally, ransomware attacks were targeted at larger businesses as cybercriminals could get away with asking for larger ransoms. However, more recently, small businesses seem to be increasingly targeted by ransomware attacks – often because they have less security in place. Such attacks on small businesses are likely to become more frequent in the future and so businesses of all sizes will need to guard themselves.
How to protect yourself
To protect yourself from cyberthreats in the future, it is important to use top quality security software and make sure that it is regularly updated.
Businesses of all sizes should meanwhile consider hiring the help of managed IT services like CMIT solutions. This can ensure that your company is constantly monitored and protected against the latest emerging threats.
Old tech is easier to hack and so companies should try to regularly renew their tech. Strong passwords are more important than ever – try to use different passwords for different log-ins and get into a habit of regularly changing them to keep them secure.
Thank you for reading!
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